Brothers
by SkyStrider
Summary: Ever wonder how Ryoga always manages to find Ranma, no matter where Ranma is? And why is Ryoga always getting lost? And what is with the teeth? Ranma has never wondered about that - until recently. Now, Ranma finds himself on a journey of discovery, but not about himself (or is it?)... Part of the "Bindings" storyline, between Kasumi's Fate and Tofu's Return (Ra/Akn, Ry/Akr).
1. First Iteration

Welcome to the third installment of Bindings. Whereas the first two stories addressed some of the contradictions surrounding Kasumi, now it's Ryoga's turn. This story occurs between "Kasumi's Fate" and "Tofu's Return." Note that it's really not necessary to have read the other two stories, but Kasumi and Nabiki might seem a little out-of-character without the back-story.

Fair warning: This story has a very different tone than "Kasumi's Fate" or "Tofu's Return." Some of the subject matter is a bit grim. Since Ranma ½ is primarily a humor Manga, it was necessary to re-write certain pieces of the story a few times to lighten the mood and avoid some out-of-character issues. I don't think it is dark enough to rate an "M" (and the sun does rise), but please let me know if you think otherwise.

The usual disclaimer: Ranma ½ is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only. I do claim the characters of Shizuka and Hideo Jouda (if you want to borrow them, you have to ask – just common courtesy after all). I also claim the Stone Oni of Aokigahara since he crawled out of my consciousness (where are my meds?), but I cannot claim (nor do I want to) Aokigahara itself, which is a very real place in our world unfortunately.

* * *

**Brothers**

Chapter 1: First Iteration

Ranma walked quickly through the forest, sometimes switching from two legs to four depending on the terrain. The sun had set about an hour or so ago, but his eyes had no issue seeing the terrain. His ears picked up the scurrying of the local wildlife, but he had no interest in them. He could feel his target ahead, just on top of the next plateau. Unfortunately, his sharp nose smelled blood – a lot of it. He broke into a run, cresting the ridge and breaking into a little clearing. In the center of the clearing, a young man lay on the ground before a large stone statue. The man appeared to be about 19 or 20 years old – he also had his stomach slit open. The wound was easily deep and long enough to be fatal. Off to the side, a young woman lay on the ground as well. She seemed to be whole, except that her dress was torn and soiled. Ranma dismissed her for now and ran to the man – maybe there was still time to stop the worst of the bleeding.

As he reached the man, Ranma felt a tremendous blow to the head that knocked him back ten meters. He shook the stars from his vision and looked again at the center of the clearing. The statue had turned to face him. It was a hideous thing, a hominoid about four meters tall with a huge belly. Besides the stone sandals on its feet, it wore nothing but a stone loin cloth about its waist. There were two horns on its round head. Its face was dominated by the gaping mouth filled with large oversized fangs. The lidless eyes were the same grey color as the rest of the body, but Ranma could still feel them stare at him. A low growl rumbled from its mouth, "This does not concern you. Leave."

Ranma hissed back at it, "I'll decide what is and isn't my concern." He got to his feet and went into a battle crouch. He made to spring at the statue, but instead snapped into invisibility and streaked toward the man determined to snatch him away from the base of the statue. The thing's senses and speed surprised him though as it unerroringly connected with his skull again. Once more, he found himself knocked several meters away from the man.

Despite Ranma's invisibility, the stone eyes pinned him down. Once more the mouth rumbled at him, "The boy is mine. Leave."

"The boy belongs to himself," Ranma growled back.

"No!" the mouth thundered. "The boy is mine. He had been mine for the last several centuries."

"Stuff it. The boy is not two decades old and he is quite mortal."

The statue raised its hand and a stone spike shot from it at Ranma, but Ranma easily dodged it. Ranma began stalking out a circle around the statue in an attempt to get behind it. The statue's head rotated to track him though. Another spike shot at him, but Ranma disdainfully avoided it. "Leave or die!" the thing rumbled again.

"I owe this lad. I'll not abandon him to be killed by you, and you'll have a damn tough time killing me!" Ranma snarled.

"I did not slice his belly," the statue rumbled. "He did that himself."

Ranma eyed the body more carefully and noticed a tanto blade near one of the hands. "You compelled him, demon."

The stone monster began laughing. Ranma could hear the savage joy in its tone. "Oh no! I compelled him to rape the girl and impregnate her. He slit his stomach in despair when he realized what he done."

"You mean 'What you did'. Is there not enough misery among the humans that you couldn't have skipped the need to add more?"

"There is never enough, and soon there will be more. My new life has been conceived tonight. Once more, I will walk among the living, and once more they will be in absolute terror of me."

Ranma thought fast as he prowled the circle. Obviously, statue housed a demon oni. He needed a way to distract or, better yet, upset this thing. "If you died once, you'll die again. As you rise, so shall your enemy."

"YOU LIE!" Another spike shot at Ranma. He dodged and sprang at the boy's form, but the statue's hand shot out at him. Ranma was ready for it this time and successfully dodged it, but he couldn't get near the young man. The statue continued shouting, "THE BALANCE IS BROKEN."

"The Balance is never broken. Sometimes, it tilts one way, sometimes another. It always corrects itself," Ranma taunted.

"Not this time," the statue rumbled quieter. "The mortals broke it themselves. The Kamis will not be able to right it this time."

"Then the mortals will right it, but the Balance is never broken. Your enemy will rise, and will toss you down again."

"My enemy is cold dust and has long passed beyond the cycles of this world. He is condemned to wander the afterlife, just as his descendants are condemned to wander this world."

A light went on in Ranma's head. "So you're the one who cursed this boy's family. You displayed remarkably poor form there. A good curse should fade after a few generations. Otherwise, Karma begins to kick in. All you've done is guaranteed your complete destruction."

"THERE IS NO KARMA. THE BALANCE…" The statue broke off and looked down at the young man. There was a sigh from the boy and life fled from him. A mist seemed to rise slowly from the body and encircle the statue. The chest of the statue swelled and the mist was drawn in through the mouth. When the chest exhaled, the statue looked at Ranma malevolently. "It is done. Twenty generations of despair now feed me. I have seen each and every one of them to the grave, including this boy's father. What my enemy has taken is mine once more. The very last of his line will serve as my new body."

Ranma cursed. He had lost the boy. Further battle was pointless. He now glanced at the girl. She seemed to be about twenty years old. Her hair had been braided into three long pigtails that she had woven on top of her head like a crown, and she wore a multi-colored silk scarf about her neck. She would have been considered very pretty except for the fact that she was also covered in deep bruises, which gave mute testimony to the violence she had seen. The bruises gave Ranma pause and he considered her horrible fate, now condemned to die painfully giving birth to an Oni. Her life from this point forward would be misery and hell. The demon would drain her spirit just as sure as it had taken the boy's. Ranma believed in life, but sometimes mercy demanded something else. He leapt at the girl, prepared to deliver a killing blow.

"NO!" The demon threw a blizzard of spikes at Ranma, but Ranma was ready for them – he phased out and allowed the spikes to pass through him. The spikes slammed into the girl piercing her heart, liver, and abdomen killing her instantly. Ranma made a swipe at her neck, severing the head from the body. As the Oni screamed in rage, Ranma picked up the head and streaked into the forest. He heard the Oni tearing after him, but its stone body could not navigate the forest as quickly as Ranma.

"NO! I WILL NOT BE DENIED! GIVE HER TO ME!" the Oni bellowed.

Ranma didn't waste time responding out loud as he tore into the thick underbrush. He needed to give the girl's spirit enough time to escape. If the Oni got her head, there was a chance it could resurrect her. Ideally, Ranma needed holy ground to bury her, but Ranma's current status made that difficult. He dodged another set of spikes and ran through a copse of trees, placing as many obstacles between himself and the Oni.

Suddenly, as he looked for more obstacles, Ranma heard a soft voice echo in his ears: "My family's shrine. Take me there."

Ranma almost dropped the head as it spoke to him. "Excuse me?" he said around a mouthful of hair.

"My family's shrine is nearby. Take me there," the girl said.

"Done, my lady, but directions would be useful." Behind them, the Oni ripped through the forest, tearing through brush and firing stone spikes any time he caught a glimpse of Ranma. The thing was powerful, plowing through everything in front of it. Ranma put on a burst of speed and began choosing the thickest tree trunks to dodge around.

"There's a road to the right. If you take it, it will lead to the shrine," the head told him.

"No good. If I'm on the road, the thing will have a clear shot. I have to stay physical to carry you. I need to stay in the woods."

"Then there's a deep ravine on the left. If you take the high trail, it narrows to only a meter across the cliff face."

"Sounds promising. How deep is it if the demon falls?" He streaked through another copse of trees.

"Over a hundred meters down."

"Damn thing can probably jump that, but we can pick a new direction while it's falling." He sped off in the direction the head indicated. He quickly found the trail and dodged another volley of spikes as he tore up the path. The path was a bit narrow for him as well, but he had a few advantages over the Oni with regards to balance – he could use his claws to give himself extra purchase. There was a roaring sound behind him. As Ranma spared a quick glance, he saw that that the Oni was creating a channel in the cliff wall with his hands as he ran. It was slowing it, but not enough to lose it. Damn! This thing had immersed itself in powerful despair for far too long.

Ranma leapt up from the ledge and crawled quickly along the face of the ridge. Because the Oni had cut into the ridge to make its path, Ranma temporarily vanished from sight overhead. "NO!" it roared throwing its arms into the rock and pulling away the cliff face.

Ranma felt the cliff face give away beneath him. "Oh Hell!" He scrambled and leapt from falling rock to falling rock, barely clearing the top of the ridge before it gave way too – all on top of the Oni with a huge crash. "That gives me about five seconds," he thought. He switched to invisibility. He could not hide the girl's head, but she made a much smaller target to spot than himself.

Sure enough, there was an explosion from the ravine and rocks flew out of it. With a crash the Oni leapt to the top of the ravine and scanned the forest. "WHERE ARE YOU? I'LL FEED YOU TO A SOUL EATER!"

"There's incentive to show myself," though Ranma. Out loud, he whispered, "Is the shrine close to the road? As soon as we cross the road, the Oni will see us."

"It's right next to the road."

"I hope so. Which way?"

"To the left, about a quarter of a kilometer", she answered. Ranma moved in the direction she indicated. "Is the boy dead?" she asked.

"Yes, the Oni has consumed him," Ranma answered.

"I see," the head answered.

"He wasn't like that you know," Ranma started again.

"Like what?"

"A rapist," he continued. "The lad was actually a very prudish boy. He was likely filled with horror to find out what happened to you."

"I know…I'm sorry for your loss."

"We were not close, but I owed him a favor. I'm more sorry for your loss."

"Thank you. I appreciate you freeing me."

"You're welcome, but we are not home yet." He turned to look at the Oni, still scanning the forest. "Did you know the lad?"

"No, he was a stranger to me." Ranma nodded his acknowledgement and crept closer to the shrine.

There was a huge crash behind him. The Oni had leapt the long distance from the ridge top to the road. It continued to scan the forest, occasionally looking up and down the road. Ranma worked on keeping trees and rocks between it and himself. While the Oni had picked his invisible form out in the clearing, it obviously had a tougher time with the forest as a back drop. Ranma saw the shrine up ahead and tried not to pick up the pace. Every little bit closer improved his odds. Finally, he moved himself just opposite the shrine. The girl had gone very quiet – her spirit's vitality fading, but not gone yet. Just as he prepared to leap across the road, there was a crash to his left. The Oni stood in the middle of the road. He spoke directly to Ranma. "Give me the girl. NOW."

Ranma didn't move, didn't breathe. He just watched the Oni. He noted that Oni was starting to glow faintly. It was failing just as the girl was.

"Give me the girl. I can see you."

"Liar," Ranma thought. "I can stay here all night and you'll never find me."

"I know you, Lost One. I know the desire in your Heart. Give me the girl and I grant you what you want – an end to your loneliness."

Suddenly, Ranma's heart quailed within him as the Oni touched his weakness. An end to his loneliness? What was that worth?

"You want love, Lost One, something that's been denied to you for all eternity. I can give your Lady to you. What worth is this girl compared to that? What is the boy worth? What is a dead line of men compared to that?"

Ranma viciously controlled his shaking. How long had he howled his anguish to the uncaring moon? He fought not to move, but it was getting harder. No. No, this was too much. How long must he suffer? He thought about showing himself when the Oni spoke again, "Come now. We of Aokigahara understand anguish!"

Ranma's shaking froze at that word. "Aokigahara?" he thought. "This is the Stone Oni of Aokigahara?" His eyes narrowed and his teeth were bared. His mind blazed: "I may howl my anguish at the moon, but at least I howl alone!" Anger and rage filled him now. "No one else shall join me in anguish because I failed now." With that, he conjured a small object and threw it down the path. It jingled as it hit the road, causing the Oni to spin around. Ranma ripped across the road behind the Oni.

"NO!" it shrieked, leaping at him. Ranma sprinted towards the shrine, but the Oni was going to catch him before he made it. He took the girl's head and punted it through the open door of the shrine, then faded to the immaterial as the Oni crashed though him. The girl's head spun to face Ranma as it flew through the door – her face lit up with a beatific smile before the death mask took her features.

The Oni staggered to its knees bellowing, "NNOOOO! I worked for twenty generations! I will not lose now!"

Ranma phased in ten meters outside the Oni's reach. He looked with disgust and anger at the Oni. Suddenly, a large metal screeching sound cut though the air, followed by two large booms. Ranma heard large heavy chains off in the distance. He addressed the Oni. "You're right, you will not lose. You have already lost. You lost the minute you set foot outside of Aokigahara. Now those you persecuted are coming for you. The Gates of Hell have opened wide to receive you. Prepare for Judgement." The sounds of the chains began growing louder.

"NO! I AM AOKIGAHARA! ALL WHO HEAR OF ME DESPAIR!" it yelled.

Suddenly, the Oni cut off. Water began running out its eyes, ears, and mouth. "What the hell?" it gurgled. Ranma stared at the stone menace in astonishment. The sounds of the chains paused, and then began again, but the clinking and crashing they made sounded wrong; no longer solemn, but hurried. Yet, water flowed faster and faster from the Oni's orifices. Ranma had to step back to avoid getting soaked completely. He glanced down the road toward the sounds of the chains and saw two lines of shadowy men materialize, all running down the path toward the Oni, each line carrying a long heavy chain.

Abruptly, the stomach of the Oni burst, flooding water everywhere. The Oni stared at the water pouring out its middle. It looked at Ranma completely lost. "I…I don't…don't understand," it said. Then it collapsed in on itself, splashing more water on Ranma. For a moment, there was a small fountain where the Oni had stood, and then, there was just a large puddle. Ranma looked at the two lines of shades as they continued to approach, but no longer running. Each man looked as bewildered as Ranma felt. In his mind, Ranma counted each line – ten men each. He looked at the shade closest to him, and recognized the boy who once had done him a favor. The thin young man stood with his mouth hanging open, showing his even teeth.

"What…what's happening?" a girl's voice asked. The ghost of the young woman who Ranma had "placed" in the shrine walked out of the building and joined Ranma staring at the scene. Suddenly, she vanished as did two of the men closest to Ranma, including the boy he had known. The remaining eighteen men stared at the puddle where the Oni once stood.

The lead man in the far chain nodded to the other seventeen. At his gesture, they placed the two heavy chains on the ground. The man approached Ranma and spoke: "O Lost One, hear me. I am Iko Hibiki, slayer of the Stone Oni of Aokigahara." Ranma politely inclined his head to the man. Iko continued: "We have a problem."

* * *

When the sun rose, it found Ranma once again staring at the large puddle where the Stone Oni had once stood. He stretched in the warm light, enjoying a sensation he had not felt in millennia. This sensation was part of his payment for agreeing to attempt to resolve a conflict within the Balance. As a result, Ranma was no longer restricted to night time activities. He now had the power to search for his Lady by darkness or by day.

He thought back to the meeting…Ranma had followed the shade of Iko Hibiki to a gathering of various Powers-That-Be. The Gathering had greeted Ranma and offered him a very special task which only he could complete, given his unique status. In addition, they had declared that Ranma would receive part of his payment in advance if he undertook the task. This was because there was a fair chance that no one would ever remember Ranma undertaking this mission, especially if he was successful.

Ranma smiled grimly to himself. That was the problem with moving outside the circles of the world – the paradoxes began to pile up quickly. If it wasn't for the fact that he wasn't mortal, there would be a fair chance of erasing himself from history. But the current situation could not be resolved in the present, or the future. That left only one direction. He looked at the talisman given to him. When invoked, that would move him back seven years along the boy's life. His key task was to avoid an outcome where the Stone Oni killed the boy, because that set up a collision between Water and Earth. If not resolved successfully, a clash between the two Elements would occur, and it would be large enough that it may very well sink the country. Anything was permissible to avoid that outcome, including Ranma killing the boy himself.

His smile vanished at the thought. That was an absolute last resort as far as he was concerned. He had a debt to the young man. Granted, there was a chance that the debt would never occur now, but that didn't matter to Ranma. Even if he was the only one who remembered, it still occurred. Of course, even if Ranma had no obligation to the lad, he still would have taken the task – the payment was too good to pass up. He decided to exercise it now. Ranma leaned forward and studied his reflection in the sunlight, something he hadn't seen in ages. Two large yellow eyes were set in a white furry face, above a pink nose. The fur covered the large feline body completely. The cat's ears rose up like two white tepees on its large head. As the eyes stared deep into their reflection, something twitched, then cracked.

* * *

Ranma Saotome shot up in bed, with a scream locked in his throat. Quickly, he felt his face and checked for a human nose which he found, thank Kami-Sama. His hands moved to the side and found his ears. He looked at his hands, and didn't see claws. Slowly, he got his heart rate back under control and stopped the shaking in his limbs. He had dreamed of that damned cat again. He was going to beat the crap out of his father once the sun rose…


	2. Confrontation

Chapter 2: Confrontation

Akane and Ranma were hurrying across the park toward the Jouda dojo.

"Ranma, you've been up for hours now. How can you still be running slow?" Akane yelled back over her shoulder.

"All right, all right, I'm coming." Ranma hurried to catch up with his formerly uncute fiancée (after seeing her in the wedding dress, he just could bring himself to call her uncute any more). "I'm just a little tired today."

"You know, you might better off if you let yourself sleep at night."

"I did sleep a little. Besides, you're one to talk. How many times did you check the house last night? We need to work on your Umisen-Ken."

"I thought I heard something, that's all."

"Unfortunately, you woke up Kasumi and nearly took a shot to the head from her bo staff."

"Hey, it's not my fault you taught her that."

"She needed a reach attack. *You* have the mallet."

"Trust me, so does she."

"She only uses it when you cook."

"Shut. Up. So if you slept a little, why so slow?"

Ranma kept quiet for a few moments. Then he replied, "I had some unsettling dreams."

That caused Akane to stop short and turn back to Ranma. "Dreams? How long has this been going on?"

"A few days…"

Akane let out an exasperated sigh, "Ranma! We promised no secrets among the four of us, especially after Kasumi's little trip."

"Hey, I'm talking, ain't I? I'm not keeping secrets. Last night was the third night…"

Akane checked herself. Once or twice was not a pattern, but thrice was. He was right, but everyone was on edge after Kasumi's showdown with Henna, at least everyone in the know. They decided to keep Soun, Genma, and Nodoka in the dark to avoid adding unnecessary complications, but they also decided to tell the truth should one of the parents actually notice that something unusual was going on with the four younger members of the household. Fortunately or unfortunately (Akane couldn't decide which), the three elders were absolutely clueless, something that made Akane's teeth hurt. Hell - even Nabiki was checking on the house's occupants at night and the parents didn't think that was out-of-the-ordinary?

"O.K." Akane gave in. "I guess you're right. So what was the dream about…"

"AIREN!" Shampoo's shout cut straight across the conversation. "Where are you going with kitchen-wrecker?"

"Ranma-honey! Wait up!" Ukyo was closing in from a slightly different direction.

Ranma's eyes flashed as Akane felt the air temperature drop. He stepped in front of the Akane and focused on the two girls, who faltered under his glare. He did not yell, but the words carried on the chill spilling from him. "Go away."

Ukyo yelled back, "Ranma, you can't keep doing this! We need to talk!"

"I have nothing to say to you." Ranma replied in cold tones. "Once, I thought you were my best friend. I thought you might even be Akane's friend. Turns out I was wrong on both counts."

Ukyo looked stricken. "But Ranma, I was only trying to stop her from forcing you into marriage! You're *my* fiancé!"

"I'M NOT YOUR ANYTHING! I BELONG TO MYSELF! Akane's the only one who ever understood that! Not you, not Shampoo, not Kodachi, not my Mom and Dad. And Akane wasn't forcing me into anything – she only went through with it to get me the cure which you helped destroy! She had no idea that my father had shoved me into a tuxedo or that I hadn't agreed to the wedding. She was just trying to help me! When's the last time you tried to help me, just as a friend, without anything expected in return?"

Akane stood behind Ranma, trapped in a warm pocket. She listened to Ranma and realized that she needed to make some corrections to his worldview, but now was not the time.

Tears were freezing on Ukyo's face. Shampoo was faring much worst in her light clothing – she was crouched down, huddling. Ukyo tried again: "But our fathers made an arrangement! You took my yattai…"

"I WAS SIX YEARS OLD! HOW THE HELL DID I TAKE ANYTHING! MY FATHER STOLE IT! JUST LIKE HE STOLE EVERYTHING NOT NAILED DOWN. HE MADE ARRANGMENTS WITH HALF THE COUNTRY! THE VERY FIRST ARRANGEMENT HE MADE WAS WITH THE TENDO'S, AND THAT WAS SO HE COULD STEAL THEIR HOME!"

Shock was evident on everyone's face. Ranma went on in a more normal tone: "Kasumi figured it out finally and told me. Well, everything ends here. I'm not marrying anyone, except a tanto and a katana. But first, I have work to do. My real friends need me. Maybe I can restore my family's honor before I die."

Akane was horrified. "Ranma…no…" she started, but she was cut off by a voice even colder than Ranma's from her left.

"That's not why Kasumi told you that Ranma." Nabiki was standing on a small rise. "She wanted you to have all the facts, so you could make good decisions. Bushido or not, Death is a coward's way out. Not a good decision."

"…"

Akane spoke up: "Ranma, you are an idiot! We can find a way through this! You don't have to commit…You don't have to leave us!"

Ranma's eyes softened as he looked at Akane. "I'm not going anywhere as long as you three need me. I promised that."

Nabiki let her shoulders unclench. "Then you won't be going anywhere for quite a while." Nabiki looked at Ukyo, who had collapsed in tears. "Go home, Ukyo. Forget arrangements, forget vengeance. Just go forward. Take back your life. It may take leaving Nerima, it may not. But do it."

A new voice chimed in, "Excellent advice Nabiki. One that young Ranma should take. He can forget about Bushido. There are other societies willing to take him in." Cologne stepped out from behind Shampoo and dropped a blanket on her heir's shoulders. She looked at Ranma, "You are over-doing it with the Soul of Ice technique, son-in-law. You'll end up causing yourself permanent damage." To say that Cologne was unprepared for what happened next would be a gross understatement.

There was a bright flash about ten meters in front Cologne that temporarily blinded her. When her eyes cleared, Cologne could see that Nabiki had sprinted over to Ranma and was now taking a small balanced throwing club out of her purse. Akane had produced a large mallet and went into a battle crouch next to Ranma. Ranma's hands were immediately surrounded by blue Chi. When Ranma lifted his arms upward, Cologne was hit by a wintry gale. "Kami!" she thought. "What the hell is this? This is *not* Soul of Ice. It's more like Storm of Fury!" She brought up her staff and summoned a shield against the very physical wind. Shampoo had just started too come around and was crouched down next to her. "Shampoo, what brought this on?!"

"Shampoo not know, Grandmother. I didn't do anything."

"Why are they so angry?! I've never seen Ranma generate power like this!"

"Not since Jusendo."

"What? You never mentioned anything like this!"

Shampoo went very quiet and wouldn't look at her grandmother.

"Great," thought Cologne, "she's been keeping secrets from me and I think I could really use the information right now! This is like trying to stand upright in a typhoon!" She spared a glance at Ukyo who was still sitting where she had collapsed. The girl was staring in astonishment at Ranma – but the wind was not touching her, or anything else but Cologne and Shampoo. "Damn, this is a directed blast – no wonder it's so powerful. But where the hell did he learn this? And how long can he keep this up? This shield is costing a lot of power."

Suddenly, the path flagstone in front of Ranma exploded as did the stone in front of Cologne, stunning both parties. "ENOUGH!" Kasumi Tendo shouted. She stood on the rise Nabiki had formerly occupied. Kasumi was wearing a white gi that seemed to glow with a light of its own. An older woman in her 40's wearing a more standard gi stood on her right. On Kasumi's left stood Konatsu, Ukyo's ninja assistant, dressed in his feminine fighting silks. The flagstones had shattered due to two of Konatsu's heavy throwing knives. With a nod, Kasumi sent Konatsu to Ukyo's side. The older woman simply stood with Kasumi.

Kasumi looked severely at Ranma and the sisters. "I told you three that I doubted Cologne was involved with my kidnapping. The motivation isn't really there."

Nabiki answered, "Sorry sis, but we don't know that she wasn't involved. An Amazon performed the kidnapping. We just didn't feel like taking chances."

Kasumi held a hand to her temple. "That was not a defensive action. You went on the offensive. It's a little tough to parley in the middle of a battle." She sighed, and then, with the other woman, joined the three teenagers.

Cologne's world was turning upside down. Akane and Ranma not fighting? Nabiki supporting Ranma? All three deferring in battle to Kasumi? Kasumi moving as if she was a martial art adept? And what the hell was Kasumi wearing?

Kasumi picked up Konatsu's knife and made a causal throw to him, which he deftly caught. She then addressed the ninja: "Konatsu, I think you should take Ukyo home. She has enough to think about. Thank you for coming when I called."

"Anytime, Lady Kasumi." The ninja gestured to Cologne, who also returned his knife. He then bowed to both groups and picked up Ukyo, who was still stunned. Swiftly, he vanished from sight.

Kasumi watched him leave. "Good. One less complication," she said out loud. She turned to Cologne, and raised an eyebrow.

Cologne took the bait. "Kasumi, what the hell is going on?"

The young woman allowed a small smile to grace her lips, "I could ask you the same question. About two weeks ago I awoke to find myself kidnapped in a most supernatural way, dragged to a dead world. My captor was determined to drain my spirit and send me back broken. Fortunately, she underestimated me badly. She also underestimated the spirits she had enslaved to help her. Along the way, I gained some insights, met some dearly departed, and came into possession of this gi. It was quite the adventure."

"So what does this have to do with Amazons?"

"My captor was an Amazon elder by the name of Henna. No, doubt you are familiar with her?"

Shampoo gave a small start before locking down her response. She avoided looking at anyone. Cologne was much better at hiding her response. "The name doesn't ring a bell."

Kasumi studied Cologne and then responded, "I see. Well, since you don't feel like parleying, we are done here. Let me know if you change your mind. I suggest you, Shampoo, and Mousse stay away from the dojo. The friend of our enemy is our enemy and all that. Although I will admit that I doubt Henna is really your friend."

The older woman at Kasumi's side spoke for the first time. "It's a shame. I liked your restaurant."

Cologne blinked. "I'm sorry. Have we met?" She looked at the woman, and then looked at Kasumi. No, make that 'then looked at the student.' There were too many similarities between them.

"My name is Shizuka. I'm one of the many faceless Nerimans who use to go through your doors. Thing is, believe it not, the people of Nerima tend to stick together. We have been watching over the Tendo sisters ever since their mother died. We have our problems like everyone else, and I'll admit we fight among ourselves a fair bit, but no outsider is allowed to attack one of own, and Kasumi Tendo is *definitely* one of us. You're not. You've always held some contempt for us and our ways. You're a stranger in a strange land, and you have every intention of keeping it that way, unlike Nerima's favorite shape-shifter." Ranma gave a start at that.

Shizuka looked at Ranma with a stern expression. "What, you didn't think we noticed you? Despite being a loner, every move you make screams 'Look at me.' You're sort of hard to miss. So, we watched. We watched you take on the bullies. We watched you look after the children. We watched you humor the sick. Hell, we even watched you help your enemies, whether or not they deserved it – sometimes you are not the brightest bulb." Ranma's face began to redden, and he stared at the ground. "You can be a pain in the butt. You're arrogant. You need to work on your people skills. But you want to belong. So, we've taken you in. You *are* one of us. And you owe us for that. You have a large bill to pay. So, think on that before you start talking about honor and reaching for that tanto blade." Ranma couldn't meet any of the women's eyes.

Shizuka looked at the Tendo sisters. "We should go. I have a lunch set out for us back at my dojo."

"Sounds good," replied Kasumi.

Ranma looked up. "All right, but 'Arrogant Boy' has one thing left to say." He stepped over the broken flag stone and stood on the path looking at a silent Cologne. "Go home. Take Shampoo and Mousse back to China. Things have changed. *I* have changed." He crouched down and with a cry of "Kachu tenchin amiguriken" began striking at the path in front of him rapidly. He then yelled "Breaking Point" and touched a finger to the path. Cologne looked on in surprise as a wave of stone rise up in front of Ranma and travelled down the path toward her like someone whipping a towel. Before she and Shampoo could move, it "snapped" under them throwing them ten meters.

Shizuka and Kasumi lead the way back to the Jouda dojo with the three teenagers right behind them. Akane reached out and took Ranma's hand. He blushed a little but didn't pull away, which she took as a good sign. Quietly, she said "I didn't know you knew the Breaking Point." Nabiki glanced at the two of them.

Ranma sighed and then responded: "That's what I was leading up to before we were interrupted. Three days ago, I didn't know the Breaking Point. I never thought it worth my while to learn. But after three nights of having the same very strange dream, I do…"


	3. At the Jouda Dojo

Chapter 3: At the Jouda Dojo

Five people were sitting down at the table Shizuka had set out. On the way to the dojo, at Akane's prompting, Ranma had narrated to the four women the dream he had been having for the last three nights. Kasumi and Shizuka were now reviewing the dream and asking Ranma for further details as they took the covers off of the food.

"The lead ghost of the ones carrying the chain said his last name was Hibiki?" Kasumi asked.

Ranma nodded his head. "Yes, he did. It matches the comments about his descendants being forced to wander to earth, too. Ryoga once told me his family was all affected with the affliction."

"But that's not the simple truth either," Nabiki chimed in. "His mother was also afflicted, so it's contagious in some manner too."

"Was Ryoga any of the ghosts in your dream?" quizzed Akane.

Ranma paused for a minute. "Nooo…., I don't think so."

"You're hesitating. Why?" asked Shizuka.

Ranma looked troubled. Akane spoke up, "Well, it was a dream – they are usually vague."

"Yes, they are." Shizuka agreed. "But Ranma was not vague when he described the dream. It was more like a story or even as if he was describing an actual event."

"I'm probably making more of it than it really is," Ranma dismissed with a wave of his hand. "We came here to work on training anyway, not some crazy dreams."

Nabiki's internal secret detector went off. Ranma was trying to avoid something – something about the dream. She spoke up, "I don't think so, Ranma. The last time one of us thought something was a dream, it turned out to be very real." She gave a meaningful look at Kasumi. "Why did you hesitate about whether or not Ryoga was in the vision?" She chose the last word very deliberately.

"I don't think I was seeing the future, Nabiki," Ranma disagreed with a slight bit of scorn in his voice.

"We'll see. Was Ryoga in the dream or not?"

"No," Ranma stated firmly. "But, the dead boy at the beginning of the dream looked like him quite a bit, except he was about 20 kilos too light and he was missing Ryoga's fangs. No one in the dream had those fangs." Ranma's voice faded off with the last word and his face took on a distracted look. Nabiki studied him carefully – There was definitely something he was not saying.

"Ranma?" Kasumi said to get his attention again. Ranma snapped back to reality. At his glance, she continued, "In the dream, how did you cut the dead girl's head off?"

He didn't answer her, but his eyes widened and he began to shake slightly. Akane noticed immediately. "Ranma? Are you all right?"

He turned to look at her, and she recognized the fear in his eyes. Only one thing set him off like that. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ranma? Was there a cat in your dream?"

At the word 'cat', Ranma's shaking became extreme. Akane rose up on her knees and leaned over to hug him. "Shhh…" she comforted. "It's all right...there are no cats here."

Shizuka looked over at Kasumi. "Ranma has a fear of cats?" she asked with a slight bit of disbelief in her voice.

"It's a bit more than a fear. His idiot sire subjected him to Cat Fu when he was seven or eight," Kasumi answered.

Shizuka's eyes widened and she began to shake herself. "The Cat Fist?" she said in astonishment.

"You've heard of it I see." Nabiki commented.

"Yes, I have." Shizuka said with a stunned expression. "It's supposed to be a banned technique." Her eyes hardened. "His father subjected him to that?" At a nod from both Kasumi and Nabiki, Shizuka's expression became stone. "I do believe I have a murder to plan," she stated.

Nabiki snorted. "You'll have to get in line I'm afraid."

Akane continued to hold Ranma. The others watched as his shaking began to subside. Then, with a brief nod from Ranma, Akane released him. She then slid around him to sit slightly behind him, resting a hand on each of his shoulders.

"Let's take a break and eat something." Kasumi suggested. "We'll get back to this in a bit."

Ranma shook his head. "I'm just making something out of nothing. We should drop it."

"No." Kasumi disagreed. "You're picking up techniques in your dreams. One that you've never bothered with, and one that was never actually shown in the dream. You are also leaving something important out, but I want you to have a little time to psyche yourself up and spit it out."

Ranma sighed, but nodded his agreement. Nabiki watched as Akane came back around to sit next to him. She hid her smirk as she noticed how close they sat to one another and how they involuntarily leaned toward one another. "Damn," she thought. "I may have to let the next wedding happen." The last five weeks had been entertaining to watch. Ever since the trip to China, things had been shifting between the two lovebirds.

Whatever happened in China had thrown both of them for a loop. When they first got back, Akane and Ranma had been spending a lot of time together; as if afraid the other would vanish if they took their eyes off one another. This had prompted the idiot fathers to decide that their wayward children were finally ready to wed. Nabiki had got wind of the plans and decided to stop it. Her reasons for this were many. Some part of her (all right, a big part of her) wasn't ready to give up her little sister just yet. Another part just felt that her sister was too young. Nabiki knew they loved each other, but were not mature enough to admit it yet the way a couple in love should. Yet another part of her interfered in the name of profit – the chance to collect wedding presents was just too good. Besides, if the two should wed, some of her revenue streams would dry up. It was one thing to sell pictures of Ranma and Akane as students, but even Nabiki wouldn't be able to bring herself to do it if they were a married couple.

But things had changed again with the failed wedding and the attack of the guests. Had the two been left alone, Ranma and Akane might have drifted back to their old habits. However, with the attempt on Akane's life, some switch was thrown in Ranma, and stuck fast. The very next day, he dragged Akane to the dojo and began to teach her in earnest. He still wasn't throwing punches at her, and she had been a little frustrated that the he was only using hand taps against her, but Akane was delighted that he stopped skipping around her and actually started to use blocks against her. He would often stop and correct her as well, something that the old Akane would have gone up in flames over, but now, she just listened attentively and tried to learn.

The two still bickered constantly, but Nabiki could easily tell that it was all in play now. Rarely did things escalate to a shouting match. Even when it did, the two were much faster to forgive one another. The customary insults had changed too. Nabiki noticed that Ranma had stopped using the word "uncute" (although "Tomboy" was still fair game). He also stopped making references to Akane's bust size, or the thickness of her thighs, or comparing her to a brick (whatever that had meant). Akane had dropped the word "pervert" from her list of insults, and picked up the slack with "idiot". The hammer had all but vanished.

Things changed again when Kasumi had been kidnapped. Now, Ranma began throwing real punches in his sparring sessions with Akane – and with Kasumi. Akane wore the bruises proudly. Kasumi managed to hide them discreetly, although Nabiki could tell Kasumi was not ashamed of them either. All three had been urging Nabiki to take up the Art as well, but it wasn't quite Nabiki's style. So Kasumi had cooked up some of Happosai's favorite foods, and the four of them had a discussion with the old pervert. He had actually been fairly helpful for once, and suggested that Nabiki learn the art of throwing flash-bombs and smoke screens. This would have the advantage of providing a distraction for an enemy and drawing the attention of possible allies without a long learning curve. Since this idea appealed to the rogue inside of her, Nabiki agreed and learned very quickly. She now kept several of the small devices with her at all times. Ranma was also showing her how to use balanced clubs. The small clubs could also be used at a short range or thrown. Again, the weapons appealed to her and she was learning quickly. She was getting use to the idea of walking around armed, as Cologne had learned today.

Nabiki reviewed the confrontation from earlier. She mentally sighed and admitted to herself that she had over-reacted a little. It was obvious that Cologne had no interest in hurting anyone, but Nabiki could not forget that someone had attacked Kasumi, and that someone was an Amazon, even if it wasn't their Amazons. No one was allowed to touch her sisters without punishment. While she was use to people going after Akane, Nabiki could count on Akane to dole out the punishment swiftly. If Akane didn't, then Ranma would, although Nabiki had always made sure to throw in a little extra if she thought either of them had shown too much mercy. But the cowardly attack on Kasumi was unanswered, which set Nabiki's teeth on edge. So, she had taken it out on Cologne…

She sighed again internally – maybe her Mom had been right. She wasn't thinking straight. She had been under stress for a long time now, well before Ranma had showed up. Maybe she did need a break from Nerima to get her bearings again. Well, the school year was ending in a few weeks and then it would be time to leave for college. She had chosen a university in Tokyo that was far enough away to give her that break, but close enough that she could get back here most weekends. That would have to do. But she would not (and could not) abandon her sisters, or that silly shape-shifter who had attached himself to her family…

Nabiki shook off her reverie and helped herself to some food before Ranma ate everything in sight. Actually, if Genma wasn't at the table, Ranma wasn't too bad. A comment from Kasumi or a light elbow dig to the ribs from Akane was enough to get him to slow down. Although the boy could still eat enough for four people – he just gave everyone else a chance before he cleaned up.

As Shizuka brought out some fresh fruit and custard to finish the meal, Kasumi addressed Ranma. "All right, Ranma, she said firmly. "You've had long enough. Where was the cat?"

Ranma nodded, and drew himself up to answer, but he couldn't hide the return of the shaking. Akane took his hand. He seemed to wrestle with himself, and try to force out the words, but nothing came out. After a couple more tries, he dropped his head, and shook it.

Akane squeezed his hand and gently asked, "Why can't you tell us, Ranma?"

Ranma steadied himself with deep breaths, but didn't look up. Slowly he spoke, looking at the ground. "Because there was no escape from this c-c-a-a-t-t."

Everyone looked at Ranma with puzzlement in their eyes. Nabiki studied Ranma, looking for clues. Then her eyes widened as she uttered one word: "Nietzsche."

Shizuka nodded in sudden comprehension. She asked, "When did you actually see the cat, Ranma?"

"When I looked at the pool of water that the Oni had collapsed into…" he replied quietly.

"I see. You were the cat," she stated firmly.

Ranma kept his head bowed for a few minutes taking steadying breaths. Eventually, he raised his head his head and spoke quietly: "Sort of. It was more like being an observer trapped in a movie, but I thought of everything as happening to me. We've never been that close before."

"You sound like you've dreamed of this cat before," stated Shizuka.

Ranma just nodded his head.

"When?" pressed Shizuka.

"Wow. Is she this relentless in training?" Nabiki asked Kasumi.

"Actually, this is fairly mellow for her," answered Kasumi.

"Flatterer," Shizuka said as an aside. Turning back to Ranma, she pushed him onwards: "Come on, Ranma. You've already taken most of the wall. Let's finish it. When have you dreamed of this particular cat before?"

Ranma sighed and sat up a little straighter. "He's shown up in my dreams before. Sometimes he's chasing me. Something he's just watching me. Sometimes, I can't see him, but I can feel him there nearby."

Akane pursed her lips thoughtfully, and then asked him, "This will sound a little off, but is he Neko-Ranma? The part of you that takes over when you enter the Nekoken?"

"I really, really have a murder to plan," Shizuka said half to herself. Everyone else ignored her.

Ranma shook his head. "No, I've had dreams where I'm in the Nekoken and he's still outside of me. And…"

"And?" Akane prompted.

Ranma sighed again. "The Nekoken is still me. Maybe I cannot remember it, but I'm not frightened of it. I've actually gone out of my way once or twice to invoke it."

Akane nodded. "True enough," she said.

Nabiki asked, "So what happened after the cat spoke to Iko Hibiki."

Ranma thought for a second and answered slowly, "That's when things got weird."

"Excuse me?"

"I mean really weird," continued Ranma. "Somehow, someway, the c-c-at was going to fix things by going back in time."

"O.K…."

"Hey, you asked the question. I told you it's just a dream," Ranma said defensively.

"Maybe. Maybe not," Kasumi commented. "Let me ask one last question and I think we'll put this away for a while. What woke you up?"

"The cat went to look at itself in the Oni's pool. When I saw the reflection in the pool, I woke up."

"All three nights?" Akane quizzed.

"That's it. It played out the same way each night," he confirmed.

"Three nights in a row not a coincidence. Especially if there was no trigger," Kasumi mused.

"No," agreed Shizuka. "It's a message, but I have no idea about what. Any ideas?"

Everyone shook their heads "No."

After a few minutes or so, Shizuka slapped her legs. "All right then," her tone turned very business-like. "Let's move on with the day and come back to it later." Shizuka turned to Nabiki. "Did you bring the video camera?"

"Yep, and I brought a couple hours of tape. Should be enough to last the session," Nabiki answered.

"Good. Let's go to the training room. Ranma will run through each of the katas, and then teach them to us. We will use the tape as a teaching tool for us and to critique Ranma's teaching style later."

Akane grinned. "Oh good. I get to criticize Ranma for once," she mocked as they all got up.

"What are you talking about, Tomboy? You criticize me constantly," he shot back.

"Behave you two," Kasumi scolded. "Do this on your own time." With that, she led the way to the changing rooms.

Two hours later, four sweating martial artists wearing gis returned to the sitting room, followed by Nabiki who was checking the tape on the video camera. "Pretty good," she commented. "The lighting in the dojo was perfect."

"Do you think the copies will come out all right?" Shizuka asked. Once Nabiki had given her an affirmative nod, she walked towards the kitchen. "I'm going to put on some tea. Have a seat. The shower is down the hall, too." With that, she left the room.

Akane reached into the bag Kasumi had brought and took out a towel and some toiletries. "I call the shower first!" she said grabbing her clothes and hurrying off.

Kasumi walked over to Nabiki and began looking at the tape with her. Ranma wandered over to the couch and stretched out. He had only planned to lie down for a few minutes, and then look at the tape himself, but sleep quickly overtook him.


	4. Ryoga

Chapter 4: Ryoga

Ryoga was having a lousy day. He knew he was somewhere near Akari's farm – he had actually seen it in the distance yesterday, but his horrible sense of direction was foiling everything. Come on! After all, it was his birthday today. Akari had promised him a special day if he came to the farm. Couldn't he catch a break once? Damn it…why did Ranma have all the lu…

He stopped himself then and sat down with a sigh to rest. Yeah, "lucky" Ranma. Ryoga had two curses – a hereditary lack of direction and a Jusenkyo curse. Ranma was cursed with the Cat Fist, cursed by Jusenkyo, and cursed with idiot parents. Ryoga could at least count on the love of his parents, even if they were lost all the time. Ranma's own father had helped steal Ranma's cure away from him. Of course, Ryoga hadn't been much of a help either…

All right, Ryoga was a little ashamed of himself. What should have been the happiest day of Akane's life, a girl he said he was once in love with, was probably the worst. Ryoga had tried to tell himself that she hated Ranma, but it never matched reality. He watched Akane sacrifice herself for Ranma over and over again. He remembered the hug she gave Ranma when they got back from the battle with Herb and the cry of "He's my fiancé!" she gave when she ran to rescue Ranma from the dragon at Ryugenzawa. Then there was the wedding - no girl marries a man she doesn't love just for a magic cure. Even if she does, she doesn't get dressed up like Akane did. The image was burned into his skull – Ryoga never saw anyone as beautiful as Akane was that day, and it was all for Ranma.

Ryoga couldn't even pretend that he was saving Akane from Ranma. Ranma was a jerk, no question about it. However, he was a jerk that killed a god for Akane's sake; a jerk that would gladly sacrifice himself a thousand times over for the chocolate-eyed girl. Ryoga saw Ranma's face at Jusendo, both times when Ranma thought he lost Akane. There was no light in his soul at that time – Ranma died when he thought Akane was gone.

Then there was the aftermath of the wedding…once Ranma had snapped out of the daze caused by Happosai's bomb, the real explosion happened. Kuno had been trying to grab Akane at the time – Ryoga never saw Kuno leave the building. One minute he was there, the next he was missing. Apparently it took him 5 minutes to splash down in the ocean. Kodachi made the mistake of trying to grab Ranma then. She spent two days in the hospital suffering from hypothermia afterwards. Shampoo and Ukyo had taken one look at the human popsicle and fled quickly. Ranma's father didn't move quickly enough though and ended up embedded in the wall across the street – Ranma had thrown him through the dojo's wall and through the complex's outer wall. Mousse had tried to calm Ranma down, but ended up following Kuno.

Ryoga's turn was next. In half the blink of an eye, Ranma had his hands around Ryoga's throat and hoisted him up in the air. Ranma's eyes met the Lost Boy's, and Ryoga had never seen such anger blaze in them. "You! You…you…" was all that came out of Ranma's mouth. Ryoga knew fear then, sure he was dead. But, as he watched, Ranma's eyes lost their fire and became despondent. Ranma loosened his hands from Ryoga's throat and slowly dropped him. The pig-tailed boy's shoulders slumped and he turned away from Ryoga, head bowed. Akane made her way over to Ranma, took his hand, and led him out of the dojo. That was the last time Ranma exchanged any words with Ryoga.

Since then, Ryoga had seen Ranma four times. The first three times, Ryoga had been trying to get to Akari's farm. All three times, he ended up back in Nerima, within shouting distance of Ranma, but Ryoga hadn't wanted to get Ranma's attention. The lost look in Ranma's eyes from after the wedding still haunted him, so Ryoga silently slipped away. He had always said he wanted to destroy Ranma's happiness. Now that he had done it, he could not face the consequences. The fourth time was different though and had only happened a week ago…

* * *

It had started the same way, with Ryoga trying to get to the farm. Instead, he ended up in the park near Furinkan High School. Ryoga saw Ramna in one of the park clearings, but this time, Akane was with him. The two of them were wearing their gis and sparring hard – Akane had a number of bruises on her arms. This caused Ryoga to see red and he charged toward them ready to yell his battle cry of "Ranma! Prepare to die!" However, before he could open his mouth he suddenly felt himself jerked upwards into a tree. When he regained his orientation, he was suspended upside-down, ten meters above the ground with a wad of cloth stuffed in his mouth. In front of him, sitting on a thick branch with her legs drawn up against her chest was a young woman dressed in black fighting silks.

She regarded Ryoga with a thoughtful gaze and then spoke: "I seem to recall you from the wedding. If you wish to challenge either Master Ranma or Lady Akane, please have the decency to wait until after they finish their sparring practice. Better yet, you should wait at the dojo like a proper challenger."

The words stunned Ryoga for a minute. Then he reached up and removed the wad from his month. "Who the hell are you?"

The woman responded, "I am Konatsu. I am a friend of Master Ranma and Lady Akane."

"Ranma has no friends, only rivals," Ryoga returned.

"Nonsense. The Lady Akane is his friend, so is the Lady Kasumi. My mistress Ukyo once was his friend – Maybe in time she will be again."

"Ukyo? Who are you to Ukyo?" Ryoga asked.

"I am Ukyo's ninja servant – at least six days out of seven. Lady Akane talked Mistress Ukyo into giving me one day off a week, despite my requests to the contrary." Konatsu coughed into her hand. "The Lady Akane can be quite forceful in an argument when she chooses. She may have been right though. I use the one day off look around Nerima and watch people. It is very educational. Today I was lucky enough to stumble upon Master Ranma and Lady Akane performing a sparring session away from the dojo. It is much easier to observe them out in the open like this."

"Observe? You're a spy for Ukyo?"

"Sometimes," Konatsu responded. "I try and discourage my Mistress from such activities though. It's not very healthy for her. She really needs to move on." The girl straightened up. "Today, I'm spying on them for myself," she said proudly. "Ukyo has been encouraging me to take on my own projects."

Ryoga stared at the girl, trying to decide if she was mad. Slowly he asked, "Why would you want to spy on those two? Are you going to challenge Akane?"

"Why would I do that? I have sparred against both of them several times. Sometimes I do well, sometimes not. At least it is always interesting."

"Now, I know you are lying. Ranma doesn't fight girls," Ryoga snapped.

The Kunoichi glared at him. "I don't lie unless I am on assignment, and I'm not. You're not very bright, are you? You just saw Master Ranma sparring with Lady Akane using your own eyes."

The response caused Ryoga's brain to pause for a few moments and his face to flush. Finally he asked, "So if you're not on an assignment, why are you so interested in them?"

"I am a Kunoichi, one of the best of my generation." Her tone left no argument in the statement. "We study everything we can about human emotion and how to manipulate it. Master Ranma and Lady Akane have a very unusual mating ritual. I am please I can see it performed first hand."

Ryoga's mouth would have dropped open except for the fact he was hanging upside down. "You've watched them have sex?" he whispered.

The ninja rolled her eyes. "Definitely not very bright. We are humans. We tend to mate for life. Sex is only a small part of the dance, and, as interesting as it is, I've seen enough of that thank you very much." As an aside she said thoughtfully, "Although I have a feeling that the screaming I heard from my step-sisters' rooms wasn't quite right." She shrugged her shoulders, dismissing the thought, "Never mind."

"But you have seen them do it?" Ryoga pressed.

"No, I haven't, and even if I did, I would not tell you. It's none of your business."

"But you're the one spying on them!" he shot back.

"Yes, I am. As I said, I am observing them from an educational point of view. Although, I will admit they provide a great deal of amusement as well," she said candidly. She was about to continue when she was cut off by a shout from the direction of the sparring couple.

"Tomboy?! Who's a tomboy?" came the familiar yell.

Ryoga could hear the amusement in Ranma's reply: "It you have to ask after all this time…"

Konatsu leaped to her feet. "Oh good! Now it's time for speed training!" she said brightly.

Ryoga watched from his lofty position as Akane swung at Ranma several times, picking up speed with each swing of her arms. Ranma was actually forced to back up as he taunted "Slow chick! Slow chick!"

Ryoga had had enough – he was going to teach Ranma a lesson. He reached up to free his legs, when a familiar cry stopped him cold "Ranma Saotome! Prepare to die!" He looked up (at least from his point of view) to see Ranma stumble and fall in surprise. Akane immediately dove at him, forcing Ranma to scramble.

Ranma rolled away from Akane, and leapt to his feet wagging his finger at his fiancée. "Hey, no fair using the funny voices!"

"Is this Anything Goes or not?" Akane countered, smirking at him. She launched a combination at Ranma while mimicking Ukyo: "Oh Ran-chan! I have a treat for you!" The voice was spot on and Ranma was having a hard time trying not to laugh as he dodged her. Akane continued to pick up speed.

"You're supposed to taunt your opponent! Not make them collapse from laughter!" he yelled as he was forced to block her strike.

"Whatever works, dummy!" Akane shot back. She then continued on in a passable imitation of Kodachi's voice while leaping at him: "Come Ranma darling, I yearn to embrace you!"

Ranma rolled under her. "O.K. that one's just frightening!"

With another smirk, Akane charged again. "Prepare to meet thy fate, foul sorcerer!" she yelled.

The tone was a little off, but the inflection was perfect. Ranma almost felt like had to check for Kuno. "That's it! I'm out of here!" the pig-tailed boy cried. Ranma turned and ran off toward the dojo with Akane in hot pursuit.

Akane's taunt floated back to Ryoga: "Airen! Airen! Wait for Shampoo! We go on date now?"

Ryoga turned to Konatsu, who was grinning like a maniac. "Could you please let me down now?" he asked.

"I suppose. You'll at least let them reach the dojo before you challenge them?"

"I'm not going to challenge them. I'm going to go home," Ryoga told the girl.

"Oh, that's a shame. Either one would enjoy a challenge. Why did you charge them if not to challenge?"

"He was hurting Akane. Didn't you see the bruises on her arms?"

Konatsu looked at Ryoga like the Lost Boy was an idiot (again). "Where else did you think the bruises should be? They were *sparring*. She can defend herself well enough to block a punch. Otherwise, he wouldn't have thrown it."

"Could you please just let me down?" Ryoga asked again with some exasperation in his voice.

"Oh, all right." The girl vanished from sight and Ryoga felt himself being lowered to the ground. Once the rope was tossed down, the ninja appeared before Ryoga, melting out of the shadows. She began coiling up the fine rope as Ryoga got to his feet.

"Do you need directions out of here?" Konatsu asked.

Ryoga looked the tall girl over and sighed. "If you have time, could you please take me to the train station? I don't have a very good sense of direction."

"Sure…" she started, then paused looking thoughtful. "Is your last name Hibiki?"

"Ah, yeah. Is that a problem?" Ryoga asked hesitantly.

"Oh… no it isn't. My mistress, speaks fondly of you…well, as fondly as she speaks of anyone who isn't Master Ranma, but we definitely need to get you on your way."

"Huh?"

"Well you see, my mistress is a little lonely and feeling down right now. She might latch on to any port in a storm, and you already have a girlfriend from what I understand. If she was to latch onto anyone, I'd rather it was me," Konatsu explained.

"Are you always this blunt?" he asked with more exasperation in his voice.

"Actually, I can be quite the diplomat. However, it is always necessary to match one's speech to one's audience."

Ryoga wasn't sure if he hadn't just been insulted, but let it slide. "Look, no offense, but I don't think Ukyo slides that way. I know she dresses like a guy most of the time, but she has had a crush on Ranma ever since I known her and while I've caught her checking out other guys, I've never seen her check out a girl."

Konatsu blushed, looking very pretty. "Thank you," was all she said. She turned and walked toward the park exit. Ryoga followed her, feeling even more confused, but decided to let the matter drop. As they left the park, Konatsu turned to Ryoga and asked, "Have you known Ranma and Akane long?"

"Yeah, you could say that," he answered. "Ranma and I went to middle school together. I met Akane through Ranma."

"But you're not friends?" she prompted.

"Well, I guess Akane and I are friends, but I'd have to classify Ranma more as a rival than a friend."

"I see. So, what are you rivals for?"

That stopped Ryoga's thoughts cold. What was his beef with Ranma anymore? It use to be for Akane's love, but she never saw Ryoga in that light. For the right to protect Akane? Ryoga always claimed Ranma was the biggest threat to Akane's well being, but Ranma always claimed Ryoga, or rather P-chan was. Because Ranma pushed Ryoga into the pool at Jusenkyo? Maybe that was closer to the truth – but a small voice inside his head argued that "push" was too strong a word. Or was it because Ranma ran away from Ryoga's challenge in middle school?

"For justice and for revenge," Ryoga finally answered.

"I see. Then, since you were seeking Ranma out, you feel you are the wronged party," Konatsu said thoughtfully.

"I *am* the wronged party. I've seen hell because of Ranma," Ryoga insisted.

"Ranma sentenced you to Hell? I didn't think he had that power. How did you escape Hell?" Konatsu asked surprised.

"What? No, that's just an expression!" Ryoga explained quickly.

"Then it's a foolish one. Hell is a place of no hope and no light. As long as you walk under the sun, you have both and you should treasure it," Konatsu said severely. "You should also not accuse anyone of such dark craft unless they actually practice it."

"That's not what I meant!"

"Then you should say what you mean. What did Ranma do to you?"

"He gave me a curse. Because of him, I turn into a small pig, and I've nearly been eaten several times."

Konatsu looked at Ryoga questioningly. "Do you change at night or something? You look fine to me…"

"No, it's activated by cold water."

"Oh!" Konatsu said with sudden understanding. "You have a Jusenkyo curse like Ranma does! He hates that place. Why would he bring water back just to curse you?"

"He didn't! He pushed me in!"

"Oh. I see. Well, I'll admit that does seem to be a nasty thing to do to your traveling partner. Why did the two of you go there together in the first place?" Konatsu pressed.

"We didn't go there together. I was following him," Ryoga explained.

Disbelief began to show on Konatsu's face. "You followed Ranma to the Pools of Sorrow? What on earth possessed you to do that? Were you the one who pushed him in?"

Ryoga became indignant at that. "No, I'd never push anyone in there. I didn't even know where he was bound to when he left."

"So why did you follow him?"

"Because he ran away from my challenge, and I didn't want him to get away from me!" Ryoga said raising his voice.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you challenged him, and he ran away, doesn't that mean you won the challenge?" Konatsu pursued calmly.

Again, Ryoga's thoughts stopped cold. That *was* the way challenges worked. If your opponent didn't show up, you won by forfeit. His face began to turn beet red and he mumbled an answer to Konatsu: "I followed him because *I* was the one who didn't show up for four days, and he stopped waiting after three days."

"Excuse me if this sounds a little harsh, but why did he bother waiting even three days? He was the winner as soon as the sun set."

Ryoga looked at the ground "Because Ranma knew I have no sense of direction, so he waited for me for three days."

"Actually, knowing Ranma's love of a fight, I'm surprised he's still not waiting for you there," Konatsu commented.

"His father dragged him away to Jusenkyo on a training trip after Ranma fell asleep waiting for me."

"O.K. That sounds about right since I know his father is a complete idiot," Konatsu mused. "So, Ranma didn't run away from you. He was taken away."

"Yeah, but I didn't know that at the time!" Ryoga said. "I didn't want him thinking I was a coward!"

"So, you followed him to god-knows-where to prove you weren't a coward. And you did this without a good sense of direction? A sense of direction so poor that you could not make it to a local fight in three days?"

"Um, yeah," Ryoga answered.

"Please excuse the disbelief, but HOW?" Konatsu asked plaintively.

"I don't know," Ryoga admitted. "Somehow I arrived shortly after they did because…" His voice trailed off…

"Because…" Konatsu prompted with a raised eyebrow.

Ryoga sighed. This girl was way too persistent. "Because Ranma's father had just fallen in and tossed Ranma into a pool in anger. Ranma was tearing Jusenkyo apart trying to kill his father."

"A good use of his time I must say," Konatsu approved. "But I have to ask – did he really push you in on purpose or did he collide with you in his blind rage."

"The later," Ryoga admitted.

"I see, and I bet he doesn't even remember it, does he?"

"NO!" Ryoga said with some heat. "He just a conceited, arrogant, uncaring moron who…"

Konatsu cut him off. "The first two I'll agree with, but not the last two. He does care about people and he's fairly bright. He helped rescue me and I've seen him try to help others. He's awfully slow to apologize for things, but you mean to say he's never tried to make it up to you?"

Ryoga remained silent, remembering Ranma's vow.

"And you've never forgiven him for the accident, have you?"

"I wasn't an acci…" Ryoga started, but faltered under Konatsu's gaze.

"Yes, it was and you know it otherwise you wouldn't have stopped just there. You don't even hate him – you've been way too calm throughout this discussion, but you are angry with him. Very angry. Why?" Konatsu pushed.

Ryoga snapped then. "What the hell do you know about it?" he yelled. "I've led one of the most miserable existences on the planet. I've got nothing! No parents, no friends, no real home. I've wandered through life aimless. The only thing I've got for certain is Ranma's rivalry!"

"And he left you behind! Didn't he? Just walked out of your life!" Konatsu yelled back.

"Yeah he did! Then I had noth…" Ryoga's voice died off and he stared at the ground as he walked.

"Ah. Here we are: Nerima's train station." Konatsu said as if nothing had happened. "Let's get you to your train."

She prodded him through the process of buying a ticket and made sure he got on the correct train.

"I'd love to help you get all the way home, but Ukyo will need my help this evening. Make sure you get help at the other end. Good luck!" With that, Konatsu let the door close as the train pulled out of the station.

* * *

Ryoga studied the ground as his thoughts returned to the present. Then he sighed and stood up. Looking around, he decided that he might as well climb up the nearby mountain to see if he could get his bearings. If he stayed where he was, he would stay lost. If he moved about, he might stumble across Akari…or Ranma.


	5. The Second Dream

Chapter 5: The Second Dream

Ranma watched the boy go about his day. At least things were looking up slightly. When Ranma first arrived, it was a wonder the lad had lasted as long as he did. Each morning was the same thing – the lad got up and followed the blue painted footprints to the bathroom. He then followed the red painted set from the bathroom and went downstairs to the kitchen to see what he could find to eat. The contents of the kitchen depended on when Social Services last came by to check up on him or if one of his parents had managed to stop by. The lack of food was one of the reasons the boy was initially so thin. After breakfast (such as it was), the boy would then start toward school. Despite the fact that school was less than a mile away, the lad needed to allow for a couple of hours to get there. The Oni's curse grew stronger as the boy grew older, but it had not reached the point yet where it actually stopped him from eventually reaching his destination. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be much longer…

Once the lad reached the private middle school he attended, he had a little respite. The teachers there kept an eye on him, and there were hall monitors that were aware if his difficulties. The school provided a lunch for him – the most solid meal of his day. Fortunately, this was already paid for – bullies picked on the lad constantly, often relieving him of any money he happened to have on him. This prevented him from supplementing his lunch or from grabbing more food on the way home.

After school, the boy headed home. He couldn't participate in the after school clubs if he wanted to get home with enough time to do his homework and scrape together some dinner. Once the cleanup was done, it was time to get some rest and start the treadmill again. There were no friends in his life, no activities, and no respite but the television and the game console. Ranma had to admire the boy's spirit – a lesser man would have succumbed to the isolation and cracked, but not the lad. He just pressed on and waited for the occasional visitor, whether it was a parent or a counselor.

But Ranma was making a difference. Several times, Ranma would intercept a bully using a well thrown object or tangling someone's feet. He could also nudge the lad's mind to make a correct turn every now and then. The Social Worker often remembered to stop by with food a bit more often as well. However, there was only so much Ranma could do without drawing too much attention to himself. He had to walk a very careful line. Ranma could often feel the Oni's presence watching over its victim. Should the Oni detect Ranma, it would take steps to circumvent whatever aid Ranma could give the boy. Even if the Oni's spirit vanished, as it sometimes did from time to time, Ranma could leave no solid trace that he was about.

It was at night that Ranma had the edge on the Oni. Ranma would enter the boy's dreams and counteracted any nightmares the Oni had sent and instead constructed visions of hope, ambition, and triumph. Ranma tried to get the lad to see himself as a noble fighter against overwhelming odds, that his princess awaited him if he fought hard enough, and that he had loyal companions awaiting him. The dreams were a bit over the top perhaps, but they were having some effect. This version of the lad was showing more spunk – he was actually standing up to the bullies. He didn't always win, but at least he went down trying. The boy started to watch more martial arts on the television, and even work along with some instructional videos requested from the library. A dojo would have been better, but the lad's schedule and lack of direction didn't allow for that. Still it wasn't enough. The Oni was a fearsome opponent and the boy just wasn't getting the training he needed to beat the creature – and time was ticking.

Ranma watched the boy go out the door and then leapt out a window to follow him. The bullies were starting to find easier targets, but Ranma wanted to help out the lad in case any bullies decided to attack. As they walked along, Ranma began to feel another Presence, much like himself, approaching from behind. When he turned to look, all he could see was another boy in the same school uniform as the lad. The new boy was broad of shoulder with blue eyes and black hair drawn back in a pig-tail. He was running up behind the lad without making a sound and closing the gap at a startling pace. As Ranma watched, the pig-tailed boy approached the lad and gathered himself for a leap. For a second, Ranma was afraid that the new boy would attack the lad, but instead, the boy leaped completely over the lad, never touching the lad, never slowing down, and not even saying so much as "Excuse me." The feeling of Presence followed the pig-tailed boy as he raced on ahead, treating further obstacles as he had the lad. Ranma and the lad stopped for a minute completely astonished.

"Amazing," Ranma thought to himself. "There's another one of my kind about, but he didn't sense me as I sensed him. This one must be very new to his power. He bears watching. Who knows? Although my kind doesn't always seek alliances, they do occur."

At the school, the new boy was in the same classes as the lad. He was introduced as a transfer student, but Ranma had a hard time catching his name, which wasn't all that unusual. Ranma rarely caught any of the males' names; it was only the female names he usually paid attention to. He did take the time to study the pig-tailed boy closely though. The young man was obviously a fighter, and there was a palpable grace to him, but Ranma's feeling of Presence from the boy didn't match what he saw. The boy was too young to emanate that much power. Whatever he was, this had to be a disguise of a much more mature being. But if that was the case, why didn't he detect Ranma? Even though Ranma was invisible, a creature of that much power should be able to detect the unseen. If the creature was playing dumb, he was doing an outstanding job – even a Kitsune would have tipped his hand a little by now.

Ranma continued to watch the new boy throughout the day. For the most part, the pig-tailed youth kept to himself. He participated well in sports, which drew a favorable response from his classmates, so that he was surrounded during lunch with other boys trying to size up the newcomer. When the lunch ended, he outmaneuvered everyone to grab the last few bits of food with an ease that surprised everybody, including Ranma's lad. The disdain in the new boy's body language left a bad taste in some people's mouths – the boy was obnoxious in victory. Back in the classroom, it was obvious that the boy was an indifferent student as best. He wasn't dumb by any means, but he was here because he had to be, and that was that.

After school, the new boy left immediately. Since Ranma's lad also left at the same time, Ranma gave the lad a little nudge to follow the pig-tailed youth and see where he lived. Ranma made an effort to cloak the lad's presence as well as his own, so as not to distract the youth. The three of them walked past the lad's house and continued down the street for another block. Then they turned right and Ranma noted that the new boy lived just around the corner. Outside the house, a tall heavy-set balding man waited for the youth. "You're late!" the man yelled at the pig-tailed boy.

"Shove it, Pops. Schooling was your idea, not mine," the youth answered back.

"Be respectful to your Father, boy! You know people were starting to ask questions, and we're not done here yet."

"Again, not my idea old man."

The man grunted at his son, and then attacked the boy without warning. The boy dodged the attack and slammed his father in the stomach. The adult countered with a shot to head, connecting with the boy's jaw. "You're sloppy boy!" he taunted.

The boy responded with a sweeping kick that his father blocked with ease, but the follow-up palm strike caught the adult hard in the shoulder separating the two opponents. They then leaped at each other exchanging kicks and blocks with ever increasing fury. No one was pulling punches; both combatants should be covered in bruises once this was over. Ranma and his lad watched the fight with growing awe – here was a fourteen year old boy holding his own against a skilled adult who outweighed him by at least half again. His fighting skills were absolutely astounding!

With the new boy putting so much of himself into the fight, Ranma could start to see into his spirit. So, Ranma concentrated on trying to see how much of his power was due to the supernatural Presence lurking within him and how much was due to his mortal form. That's when Ranma received his second shock – while the Presence was part and parcel of the boy's soul, it was actually in conflict with his core spirit. The boy was as good as he was *despite* the conflict. With the conflict resolved, the young man could easily surpass his father. What had happened to split a mortal child like this? Why the conflict between the two sides? And why could Ranma sense the hidden other half so well?

Suddenly, the boy grabbed his father about the head, and dropped to the ground quickly, driving the older man's head into the ground, stunning him. The boy leaped up quickly and surveyed the damage. With a quick cry of "Yes!", he vanished into the house. Ranma and his lad looked at the stunned father for a few minutes until the man seem to snap back to himself.

The man shook his head and took stock of his surroundings; then he looked at the house. "Hey boy!" his yelled, "Stop! That's my food you are eating!" A derisive laugh answered him, causing the man to roar and charge into the house. There were further sounds of fighting from inside, dominated by the boy's laughter. Ranma decided that the show was over for today and silently urged his lad to turn around and head for home. But he could feel his lad's admiration for the other young man. Ranma couldn't help but feel that way himself, but there was more to it than that for him. The new boy was a mystery, and Ranma was too full of curiosity to leave a mystery alone.

* * *

That night, after making sure his own charge was deep asleep, Ranma returned to the house of the new boy and his father. Silently, he let himself in and stalked through the house, looking for his target. The father was easy to find – his snoring shook the house. The young man was a little tougher to locate, but Ranma figured (correctly) that he would be in the bedroom furthest from the noisy man. Ranma stared at the sleeping boy, whose dual nature struck Ranma as plain as day. Ranma watched and waited for the young man to start dreaming and then stole quietly into the boy's mind to observe.

Inside the young man's dream, Ranma recognized the insides of an abandoned warehouse. In front of him, he saw a much younger version of the boy walking along side of the boy's father. Ranma crept silently behind them listening to their conversation.

The boy exclaimed, "A new technique Pop? That sounds great! When do we start?"

"Ah, you do your father proud. We start right now. I have the training room all set up," his father answered. "It's right over here."

The pair stopped in front of a covered pit. The father grabbed some rope. "Come here boy," he said. "We need to bind your arms and legs properly."

"If you say so, Pops," the young boy answered.

"There. Can you get out easily?"

The boy tested the ropes. "Nope."

"Good. Now hold still a little longer." The adult began to drape fish sausages across the boy and stuff them down his shirt and in his pockets.

"Pop, what are you doing?"

"I'm just getting you ready for the training, son. Almost there," the father replied.

The boy looked at him with confusion. "Are you sure about this, Pop?" he asked.

"Absolutely! There. That's everything!" his father answered. With that, the man picked up his small son and kicked the lid off of the pit. "All right, boy. Brace yourself. It's about a five meter drop." He then dropped the boy feet first into the pit.

"Ow! That hurt!" exclaimed the boy.

"Well, you should have rolled a bit more with the fall. Now, let me cover the hole and we will get started," came the reply. The man replaced the lid on the pit and sat down.

"Are you serious?" the boy called out. Ranma became curious about what the boy saw, but when he tried to phase into the pit, the dream stopped him. Ranma felt very cold suddenly. The only time that occurred was when the dreamer was in a nightmare. "Pop? I hear something moving down here. What's here?" the boy yelled up again. A faint sound echoed up from the pit now, Ranma could just make out the "meow" sound. "A cat?" the boy questioned. More sounds echoed up. "More than one? Pop, what is going on?"

The father just sat on the floor next to the covered pit. Ranma stared at the man as a horrible suspicion started at the back of his mind. The boy cried out "Hey, get away!" Ranma heard the boy connect with something, and felt a sympathetic pain. That something hissed at the child. It was joined by several others. "No! Get back. Ow! Cut that out!"

A feline war cry started that echoed within Ranma's being. The cry became a scream as it was taken up by dozens, no hundreds of cats. The scream cried of hunger, and of blood. Then there was the thudding of two soft bodies colliding, which was then repeated again and again. A human child's voice joined the scream, his voice not lifted in hunger, but in terror. "AAHHHH! P-p-pop! NOOOOOOO!" Ranma continued to stare in horror at the father of the child as he sat there stonily. As the boy screamed again, something inside Ranma twitched, then cracked.

* * *

"Ranma!" Akane screamed. "Ranma! Wake up!" She shook him harder.

"Out of the way, Akane!" Kasumi shouted carrying a small pitcher of water. Akane dove to the side as Kasumi threw the cold water at Ranma.

A soaked red-head snapped awake with a start, half rising from the wet couch. She was obviously trying to get her bearings. Akane returned to the red-head's side. "Ranma! What happened? You started screaming in your sleep and I couldn't wake you up."

Ranma nodded her acknowledgement of Akane, but didn't answer. Instead she sat up and held her head in her hands while she worked on getting control of her breathing again. The other women looked on with concern. After a few minutes, Ranma raised her head and said "The cat came back." Amazingly, there was no stutter at the word "cat". After a few more moments, Ranma swept her hands up the side of her face, through to the top of her head, and then down the back of her head. Akane heard her mumble something about "killing Pops." Ranma stood up and grabbed her clothes and a towel. Turning to face the four women, she said, "I'm going to change back and clean up. When I get back, we gotta talk."

* * *

AN:

For those interested, I added a few comments about Konastu to my profile.


	6. The Summoning

Chapter 6: The Summoning

Ranma sat still, holding a cup of tea as he finished narrating the vision. Nabiki was the first to speak. "Ranma, you've stop calling it a dream."

"Nabiki, I remember that fight with Pops shortly after we moved into that house by Ryoga," he answered. "It was the first time I managed to knock him out cold. And that night, I had a nightmare about the Cat Fu training. I remember waking up thinking, 'Man, I can't have the good without the bad.' I don't remember having an audience, but, then again, I wasn't looking for one, especially one that could mask their presence."

"So the young man in both dreams…" Kasumi started.

"Was a version of Ryoga," finished Ranma. "One who hadn't bulked up from training, and didn't have the fangs. But the Ryoga who died in the first vision was older than the one who appeared in the second vision. Things aren't quite lining up with reality."

"Maybe that's because it's not reality. It's just a dream," stated Shizuka.

"Do you really believe that?" asked Akane.

"No, I'm just playing Devil's Advocate," Shizuka replied.

"What's your earliest memory of Ryoga, Ranma? Nabiki asked.

"It occurred a few months after that fight with Pop's. He challenged me to a fight. I didn't know him then, but I didn't know anyone in my school really well. Being honest with myself, I was a bit of a jackass then." Surprisingly, no one in the room commented. "I never turn down a challenge, so we went outside of the school grounds and had a fight. He did all right, definitely not in my league, but better than most. He did have the fangs then, and he was a lot heavier than in the dream."

"So, the second dream could have happened that way, and you'd never know the difference," Nabiki concluded.

"Still doesn't line up though," Ranma pointed out. "It's possible Ryoga could have worked out in those few months, but why the changes to his teeth?"

"May be something the cat did?" Akane threw out. "It's obviously not a normal cat. It can enter dreams and mask its presence. Sounds like a Bakeneko, and if so, it may be capable of changing others as well as itself. There are many stories of evil Bakenekos, but there are a few stories of good Bakenekos as well. Sounds like this one is a guardian of Ryoga."

"Are you sure it's your friend Ryoga though?" asked Shizuka. "May be it's a boy who looks like him and has the same affliction?"

Ranma shook his head in disagreement. "No, the house the cat referenced was Ryoga's. He still lives in it now when he's not with Akari. Ryoga's sense of direction was famous throughout the school. There was no way to hide the problems he had just getting about the day. If another kid was afflicted, everyone in the school would know too. There's only one Ryoga."

"Thank heavens," Nabiki added with a smirk. Then her face grew serious. "So, Ranma had the same dream three nights in a row. Then as soon as he tells us about it, he gets a continuation of the dream. We are obviously being lead down a path. The question becomes, is it a warning, a request for help, or a trap?"

Kasumi took the thread from there. "If it is a trap, who is it for? Most likely, Ranma is supposed to run off and check on Ryoga. That would leave the rest of us exposed, or move Ranma to a situation of vulnerability. Any of us could be the target then. However, if it is a warning or a request for help, we need to at least touch base with Ryoga and see if he is all right."

Akane looked thoughtful for a moment and then spoke up. "Well, if the dreams are a trap that relies on splitting us up, the easiest way to foil it is not to split up." She glared at Ranma as he was about to open his mouth. For once, he took the hint, and she continued. "Where one goes, we all go."

"Sounds reasonable," Shizuka agreed.

"O.K., but what's next?" Ranma asked. "Do we ignore the dream or try to find Ryoga? And is that the right course of action? We're missing information."

"So, we need to get it," Nabiki stated. "If Ranma's been visited by a Bakeneko, it has to be nearby. May be we can flush it out."

"And we do that how?" Ranma quizzed her.

"Well, in your dream, the Cat Lord was sensitive to other Cat Lords." At Ranma's nod, Nabiki continued, "And we happen to actually know a real Bakeneko, so let's call it."

Ranma eyes went wide. "EXCUSE ME? You actually want to call a Bakeneko? Are you nuts?"

"But Ranma, Maomolin is rather well behaved," Kasumi reasoned.

"He tried to take Shampoo against her will," he shot back.

"And things would have been a lot easier had he succeeded," Nabiki commented. "At least for us anyway. For himself? I'm not so sure."

Shizuka cut in, "I'm sorry, did you actually say you knew a Bakeneko?"

Akane nodded. "Yes, Maomolin the Ghost Cat." As she spoke, she noticed Ranma had become a little pale, so Akane moved over next to him and took his hand.

Kasumi took up the explanation. "Actually, since he's a Chinese spirit and he only has one tail, I'm not sure he's really a Bakeneko, but he's at least the Chinese equivalent. And cats do obey him – well as much as they obey anyone anyway."

"If he's a Chinese spirit, what's he doing in Japan?" Shizuka asked.

"He's looking for his bride. It's actually a rather sad tale." Kasumi answered. "Ages ago, as a normal cat, he had an owner, a young girl, who he cared for very much. She was poor, but she took very good care of him and loved him as well. As she aged, no one would marry her because her family could not afford a dowry. Eventually, he became a Bakeneko and decided he would wed the girl. At first, she was afraid, but he persisted in his love and she agreed. Before they could be married though, she died of an illness. It was said that Maomolin challenged Death to get her back, but, after the challenge was completed, he was told she was bound to the circles of the world until he found her again. So, he's been looking ever since."

"For how long?" Shizuka followed up.

"I'm afraid it's been a couple thousand years," Kasumi said softly.

Ranma looked stunned for a moment, and then resumed his objection. "I still say he's a tad over-aggressive about the whole business," he said with obvious understatement.

Kasumi nodded her head. "Yes, I agree. So I had a few words with him about it."

"Are you serious?" Akane said in disbelief. "You approached a yokai and took him to task about his behavior? One that obviously has a good deal of power at his disposal?"

"Of course I did," Kasumi responded. "This was a day or so after that Beauty Contest at the beach, when he was re-building Shampoo's beach café. I managed to catch his attention…"

"If she was still wearing that bikini, it's not a wonder…" Ranma said as an aside to Akane. Akane just nudged him to be quiet.

"…so I grabbed his ear when he bent over to talk to me and I gave him a piece of my mind," Kasumi continued. "He became very contrite and explained to me that when he first pursued his bride, he had to be very persistent to get her attention – she was a very stubborn woman. He figures that he needs to get the attention of her re-incarnation as well before she will fall in love with him. He has caught various perspective brides in the past, but if they don't fall in love with him in six months, he lets them go as they can't be the one he's looking for. He then works to make it up to women and their families by ensuring a string of good luck. If the former fiancée has someone she's interested in, he works to help her get that person's attention." Everyone looked at Kasumi with their mouths open as she was speaking. "Anyway, I explained to him there was persistent, and then there was crossing the line. After some reflection, he agreed that he'd his search was wearing on him and he had been losing sight of what was proper. He promised that he'd fix his behavior, and I think he did."

Kasumi looked earnestly at everyone as she finished speaking. Ranma and the two younger sisters looked at Kasumi in shock. Shizuka's head was bowed, pressing her face into her hands. She was also slowing shaking her head side-to-side. After some time like this, Shizuka raised her face to the sky and seemed to be mouthing "Why me?"

Nabiki was the first regain her composure. With a heavy sigh, she said "Kasumi, only you could pull off scolding a millennia old spirit like he was a child."

"Well, he was acting childish, and it had to stop. He was old enough to know better. Anyway, we are getting away from the point – you talked about summoning him Nabiki. Any idea how?" Kasumi asked.

Nabiki retrieved her purse from a nearby corner of the room. She took out a small box and opened it. Inside was an object wrapped in cotton. She laid the object on the center table and began to unwrap it. "I retrieved this from the koi pond the night Ranma drove off Maomolin using the Cat Fist," she explained. Inside the cotton was a small round bell. "Happosai showed me how to summon Maomolin safely. We need some chalk though to draw a circle though."

"I can find some," Shizuka said walking towards her kitchen. "This should be interesting."

"Whoa! Wait a minute!" Ranma cried raising both his hands. "Can we talk about this first? You want to call the c-c-at-t?"

"Oh my," Kasumi as if a sudden thought occurred to her. "That will be a problem, won't it? Hold on a second…" She also retrieved her purse and opened it. She promptly pulled out a blindfold and handed it to Akane. "Here Akane. Will you do the honors please?"

Her sister took it with raised eyebrows. "Should I bother asking why you have a blindfold in your bag?"

"I find they are useful things to have around," Kasumi replied. At Ranma's and Akane's disbelieving looks, she made a motion with her hands indicating Akane should carry on.

"Hang on a second," Nabiki stopped them. "We need to move furniture first and Ranma's the strongest. Maomolin is nearly four meters tall on his back legs.

"HOLD ON! TIME OUT!" Ranma shouted, standing up. The three sisters didn't say a word. Nabiki and Kasumi held Ranma's gaze as he looked at them in turn. However, Akane was giving Ranma the "puppy dog eyes" look. He looked back at her for a moment and then sighed. "I'm not going to win this one, am I?" She just widened her eyes as Nabiki and Kasumi shook their heads side-to-side. "Fine," he groaned. "Akane, help me move the couch back."

* * *

Shizuka finished talking to her husband, Hideo, through the intercom to his Florist Shop with a thoughtful expression on her face. He knew his wife well enough to give her exactly the information she needed – no more, no less and without the advice he knew she would ignore. She quickly grabbed the chalk out of the supply closet and secreted on her person the stash her husband had prepared a long time ago for her. She doubted this Maomolin would be a danger, but it never hurt to be prepared. Besides, she had a feeling things were about to happen, and she had no idea where they were going. One thing was for certain: the daughters of Kimiko Tendo were not going anywhere without backup if she could help it. Neither was Nerima's shape-shifter. She came back to the central room to find that Kasumi and the teenagers had piled the furniture against the wall. Shizuka winced as Nabiki rolled back the rug. Hopefully the old marks wouldn't be visible. Out loud she said, "Sorry it took so long. Chalk is not something I use every day."

"Not a problem," Kasumi responded. "It gave us time to make some space. We should have warned you. Maomolin is a little large."

Nabiki took the chalk from Shizuka and studied the floor for a moment. She then began to draw a fairly thick circle – right over one of Hideo's faded circles. Damn. Nothing ever escaped the middle Tendo daughter's eyes. Shizuka knew instantly that Nabiki had even noted the fineness of the chalk itself. Shizuka sighed to herself internally. She wondered how much of a bribe it would take to keep Nabiki silent. Maybe she could get a "Friends and Family" discount. Oh well, at least the circle would be a perfect circle, well reinforced. If this Maomolin had any hostile intentions, he wasn't getting out of the summoning circle until dismissed.

Once Nabiki finished the circle, she placed various cushions in a ring inside the circle. At Akane's questioning glance, Nabiki explained, "The summoning is fairly simple. The key thing is to toss the bell into the circle and have it stay there. The cushions will stop the bell from rolling out. Besides, the more comfortable Maomolin is, the more likely he is to cooperate. Happosai told me Maomolin is actually fairly powerful for all that he is a goofball. He doesn't have to answer or obey me. He just has to come and stay until he is dismissed. Even then, he can only be held so long before he'll just take off."

Kasumi looked at Nabiki with raised eyebrows. "All right, little sister. Why did you ask Happosai about this and how did you get him to answer?" Nabiki just tossed her sister an enigmatic look.

Ranma answered Kasumi while giving Nabiki a very direct look: "The why is fairly obvious. Once upon a time, we needed a fairly large distraction at the High School and Nabiki managed to get Happosai and Maomolin to show up throwing everything into chaos. To say that the distraction was over the top would be putting it mildly."

Akane picked up from there, "As for the how, several pair of my underwear went missing about the same time. Happosai ended up with them but swore he didn't steal them."

Nabiki dodged the cushion Akane threw at her and commented to the both of them, "My, my. You are both coming along nicely aren't you?"

"NABIKI!"

"All right," Kasumi cut in. "I'm sorry I asked. Let's do this and get out of Shizuka's hair."

"Oh no, Miss Tendo. It's too late. You're not cutting me out that easily," Shizuka stated firmly. "I'm still your Sensei, and I'm in for the entire ride."

Kasumi was about to argue when Ranma stopped her. "Don't Kasumi. You won't win, and you're wasting time. She's in, that's that."

Kasumi turned to scold the boy and stopped at what she saw. His expression was set firmly, and his eyes held her gaze easily. As foolish as Ranma was sometimes, he wasn't a mere boy. He was a warrior, and when it came to battle, he was all business. He could evaluate an enemy – and an ally – with a glance and he had pronounced judgment on Shizuka. Not that there was any doubt really; Kasumi knew Shizuka's worth. She dropped her eyes and nodded her head in acquiesce. She didn't see Ranma and Shizuka catch the other's eye and nod to each other.

Nabiki did and decided not to allow any awkward silences. "All right. Let's go." She approached the circle and prepared to toss the bell into the air underhanded. "Maomolin!" she called out. "A perspective bride calls you to appear!" She tossed the bell up in the air only to have a large furry paw appear and catch the bell before it could make the circle.

"Nabiki Tendo," a mewing high pitched voice said from behind and above her. "There's no way you could ever claim to be a perspective bride for me. I'm keeping the bell this time."

"Wah!" Ranma cried out, backing away from Maomolin. Akane raced to get the blindfold on her fiancé as Maomolin pushed Nabiki gently to the side and moved into the chalk circle freely.

Maomolin looked at Ranma sadly as Akane got the blindfold in place. Akane then pulled Ranma to the couch and held him, allowing Ranma to calm down. Maomolin held his tongue until Ranma got his breathing under control – or at least as close to normal as Ranma was likely to get with a feline in the room. The giant cat had to bend his head down, even with the high ceiling in Shizuka's apartment. He looked at each of the Tendo daughters in turn, nodding to each of them. He then nodded to Shizuka who held his gaze and nodded back. "It is a pleasure to meet you dear ladies. I don't suppose any of the unmarried women in the room would consent to be my bride?" As each woman shook her head 'No,' Maomolin continued, "To be expected." He sighed then. "Unfortunately, only one of you has her heart uncommitted, and as I said, she's not really suitable. Anyway, now that we have the formalities out of the way, what can I do for you?"

Kasumi addressed the giant, "You've changed, Maomolin. Did our talk have that great an effect on you?"

The cat laughed quietly. "Actually, Kasumi Tendo, officially I've never had that chat with you. I remember it, but I also remember *not* having it. It did leave an impression on my younger self though. He's been behaving himself a bit better. No, I've changed for other reasons."

"Such as?" Nabiki asked.

"Meow…I've had more pressing matters to attend to, some which affect you, some which do not. I'm still a cat, and I keep my own counsel," Maomolin answered.

Kasumi did a double-take as she reflected on Maomolin's words. "You're the one who sent Ranma the dreams then?" Kasumi asked.

"No, not dreams. 'Visions' is the better word, or perhaps 'memories'. I sent him my memories. Things that once were but now may not be and things that were not, but now are. I sent him something else as well – I sent him answers, but he hasn't heard them yet and time is running out."

Ranma faced where he knew the cat to be. "An-Answers?" he stuttered out.

"Yes, Ranma. Answers. Answers to the Cat Fist. Answers to Ryoga's curse. Answers to who you and Ryoga are," the cat replied.

"You can cure us?" Ranma asked straightening up. He seemed to forget he was talking to a cat.

"No, I can't. I didn't, and don't speak of cures, just answers. But only if you have the courage to hear them."

"Are you calling me a c-c-coward?" The young man rose from Akane's arms and climbed to his feet.

"You make too much of being fearless, Ranma," Maomolin retorted. "It is human to fear things. What counts is not fear, but the courage to face your fear. You can be brave, Ranma, but can you be courageous?"

"I fear noth…" Ranma stopped himself. As everyone watched, the shaking in his body grew more pronounced as he faced the cat. Even blind-folded, he could feel Maomolin's presence. Everyone watched him silently as he wrestled with himself. Then the shaking seemed to fade. It didn't go away, but Ranma seemed to be mostly in control. "I..I can do what I have to get done," he finished.

A small smile graced Maomolin's face. "It took you three days and the help of your friends to accept the first vision. Can you accept the second vision as it stands? And will you accept the last? Will you allow yourself to dream it? Much depends on it."

Ranma clenched his fists and squared his shoulders. "As I said, I can do what I have to."

"Yeow…So be it." Maomolin clapped his paws together and Ranma fell to the ground.

"RANMA!" Akane yelled moving over to him.

"He's not hurt, Akane Tendo. I have no wish to see him hurt." Maomolin told her. "But he needs to see the vision."

Akane cradled Ranma making sure he was all right. Then she looked up at the cat and asked sharply "So, why not just tell him what he needs to know?"

"Because he would not believe it, Miss Tendo. He needs to experience it and feel the truth of it himself. Only then will he believe it."

Kasumi rounded on the spirit, "Who are you?" she demanded. "You are not the Maomolin we know!"

The cat looked at her. "Yes and no. I'm slightly older and wiser, by seven years. Up until seven years ago from his viewpoint and nearly fourteen years by mine, we were one and the same. Hopefully, by the end of tonight, we will be one and the same again. If not, we both may "pop" like soap bubbles. Unfortunately, a good deal more will also fail if we do." He swept all of them with his gaze, then spoke again "Ryoga Hibiki will die this evening unless Ranma goes to help him. Ranma must be on the train that leaves for the town near the Uryru farm in twenty minutes. Unfortunately, the vision will hold him for at least 30 minutes. I leave you to your task." With that, the cat vanished.


	7. The Oni

AN: A small reminder that the rating is 'T' for this story. Let me know if it should be higher.

* * *

Chapter 7: The Oni

Ryoga continued up the mountainside. While he might have a problem with left and right, at least up and down were fairly straight forward. He also watched the local flora to make sure he was still roughly in the same neighborhood as the farm. In the past, he had occasionally noticed rapid changes in the plant life indicating that he was probably more lost than usual. So far, he seemed to be lucky, at least in that regard.

As he walked he continued to think about his conversation with Konatsu and his outburst toward the end of the discussion. Was that the real reason for his obsession with Ranma? The fact that Ranma had become the one constant in his life and he was afraid of losing him? But, Ranma was his rival. All he ever wanted to do was defeat Ranma and move on. "_Really_?" a voice inside him asked. "_Then why have you gone on trips with the Tendos and the Saotomes_?"

"But that was to be close to Akane!" he answered out loud.

"_So why did you spend so much time with Ranma? On the trip to Haunted Hot Springs Resort, the two of you were joined at the hip whether it was keeping an eye on Happosai or playing a couple hundred rounds of video games?"_ the voice fired back.

"But we were competing with each other! That's all we have ever done!" Ryoga said.

"_Then why did you drag him away at Jusendo when you thought Akane was dead_."

"It's what Akane would have wanted! She…she loved him!" Ryoga cried distraughtly.

"_And why did he insist that you and Mousse change back first while he distracted Herb that time – even after you betrayed him?_"

"But Ranma has always stood by his frien…" Ryoga stopped in his tracks.

"_By his *friends*? That is the word you started to say, isn't it? Even when they act like idiots, Ranma stands by them, doesn't he?" _

"WE'RE NOT FRIENDS!" Ryoga yelled. "All he ever does is insult me!"

"_And when have you ever heard anyone complement Ranma? For years, his father was the only constant in his life. Think Genma ever gave Ranma any praise? Akane loves him, but have you ever heard her complement him? What's her pet name for him? 'Dummy' isn't it? Your very first words to Ranma were an insult, were they not? A very good first impression…"_

"We are not…" Ryoga hung his head.

"_Why did he try to help you find Akari at the plateau? Anyone else would have given up after the first couple of tries. Ranma tries to be friendly with people – even those that are enemies. He just doesn't know how to do it very well, and it requires some patience on their part. What's your excuse?"_

"You're not being fair to me!"

"_No, I'm not. But are you being fair to Ranma?"_

Ryoga stood there, his mood falling even more. Finally, he lifted his head and seemed to shake himself out of it. "All right," he said out loud. "Maybe I'm not fair to Ranma or myself. We've both been through a lot in life, and neither one asked for it. But standing here feeling sorry for the two of us won't make a difference. I need to find him eventually and settle things without a fight for once and without losing our collective tempers. Neither of us knows how, but maybe Akane…or more likely, Kasumi, does. Or even Akari…" With that thought, he re-adjusted his pack and strode off toward the mountain top.

* * *

Near the top of the mountain, Ryoga found a large clearing. He had been here before with Akari and felt hope growing inside of him. The clearing was about five or six kilometers from the farm, and there was a well marked hiking trail that lead from the clearing to Akari's farm. Her family had maintained the trail for generations, and once Akari had learned of Ryoga's condition, she had arranged for a set of trail markers – bright florescent blue yin-yang symbols spaced an easy distance from each other. He could follow something like that with practice – and practiced they had. All he had to do is find one of the markers and go from there.

There was something else in the clearing though, something he had not seen before. It was a large ugly humanoid statue standing about four meters tall in the middle of the clearing with two horns on its oversized head. Ryoga looked at it in passing, but he wasn't really interested. The sun was starting to set and he wanted to find the trail and get to the farm before the light faded. He began to explore the edge of the clearing quickly.

"HIBIKI!" a low grating voice yelled out from the center of the clearing.

Ryoga looked back at the statue and dismissed it. So the statue was possessed. He'd seen weirder things in his travels. That fact that it knew his name somehow was unsettling, but he really wanted to get the farm, so he kept walking around the clearing, looking for a marker.

"HIBIKI!" the voice yelled again. Ryoga continued to ignore it. Up ahead, he saw the start of the trail and moved quickly towards it. Suddenly, he felt a huge blow crash against his head, tossing him to the ground. He quickly leaped up and spun around to see what had attacked him. The statue was now before him, moving like a living being. It drew back its hand saying, "I'll teach you to ignore me you little worm."

"I'm a little busy right now," he said, dodging the hand. "Can we do this some other day?"

The statue looked puzzled by the miss. Then it clasped its hands together it a double fist and brought the fist down on Ryoga. At least, that was the plan, but Ryoga wasn't there. While he wasn't as fast as Ranma's girl form, he had learned enough from fighting her to get out of the way quickly. He was also interested in quitting the fight quickly, so he leapt over the joined fist and touched the statue in its protruding belly with a cry of "Breaking Point!" There was a huge scream followed by the joined fist rising to toss Hibiki several meters. The Lost Boy sprinted toward the path.

The statue yelled out: "That hurt you little bastard!" When it saw Ryoga was still ignoring it and was almost out of the clearing, it yelled again: "Enjoy being a bastard! For that's all you'll ever be for not avenging your parents!"

Ryoga skidded to a stop. "What did you say?" he called back in a cold voice.

The thing moved toward Ryoga. "I killed your parents, you little piece of crap. Just like I did in your grandfather, and his father, and his father. All the way back for nineteen generations. Just like I will you. DIE!" It hurled a stone spike at Ryoga's head.

Ryoga touched the spike as it neared him, and it shattered into dust. His parents dead? Killed by this thing? A green aura surrounded his body as despair, depression, and hopelessness gathered about him. Now he truly was alone in this world. The last of his family, doomed to suffer alone. He brought the emotion into sharp focus and concentrated, then yelled: "Shi Shi Hokoudan!" He saw his blast tear into the statue, and then his world became nothing but pain. Ryoga screamed as he felt all of his energy ripped out of him. His nerves felt as if he was sunk in acid. He collapsed to the ground and passed out.

When he awoke he was in the center of the clearing, staring up at the statue that grinned evilly at him. "Thank you, little fool. I failed to kill your father, so I was missing the energy needed to control you. I was hoping you'd give it to me. You see, I feed on despair. I lap up agony. And you humans are my favorite meal." Its smile widened even further. "The great part is that your little display was just the first course. You'll just love the second course. You see, your ancestor destroyed my physical form. I was lucky to get this body, but it really doesn't suit me. So, I'm going to get a new one, and you and your girlfriend will help me. I'm going to summon her, and you're going to impregnate her – as painfully as possible. I believe the proper word is 'rape'. Then, once I have a new body growing in her belly, she'll get to watch you die, as slowly as possible. And you'll die, knowing that the birth of your son will kill her too, as slowly and as painfully as possible."

Ryoga looked up at the statue and spit at it, hitting it on the leg. "Fuck off!" he told it.

It looked surprised at him. "Where did you get such a will, little mouse? You never showed such resolve early in life. Still, it doesn't matter. You are within my spell circle and you will do as you're told. I have summoned her and as soon as she steps within circle, it will close with no escape until you are dead. You *will* rape the woman you love, no matter how much it takes to break you. As an added bonus, you'll even commit seppuku, especially when you've realized what you have done. And you'll commit it badly, drawing out the agony…"


	8. The Third Vision

Chapter 8: The Third Vision

Ranma had visited three nights of nightmares upon the horrible father and it wasn't enough. It would never be enough. How could a man purposefully starve living creatures like that? And then to throw his own son as bait for a feeding frenzy? And then to repeat it, again and again? How could the moron have no idea what he had done? He had to remove and bury the dead cats. Couldn't he see the hell in their eyes as they died? Couldn't he see it in the eyes of his son? Couldn't he see it in the eyes of the survivors that he put back in the pit, wondering if they would see the outside ever again?

Cat-Fu. The cat-fist. A technique banned by ever form of martial arts there was. One school of thought was that the student was supposed to learn the ways of the cat through the necessity of having to co-exist with cats in their feral state. Another said the technique was actually a state of madness brought about by the trauma the student was subjected to, but neither explanation allowed for the power increase exhibited by the survivor. The truth was far worse – that the student absorbed the spirits of the cats that died in the training as he tried to survive the ordeal. The spirits became part of the student's soul and served as a power source for the extra abilities. However, the student must first make peace with the spirits imprisoned within him, something that required maturity and self-discipline. If the student failed to acquire that peace, then he faced madness unless the spirits were stronger than the soul, in which case the power tore the student apart and then he faced an early death instead.

In this case, the student was a young boy, subjected again and again to the banned technique. Never had one so young been subject to this even once. Never had anyone been subjected to it so many times. It was a miracle the boy lasted this long, a testament to the strength of his soul. However, Ranma could see that the power was eating away at his life. That's why the child seemed so divided. At best, he had another year of life before his heart stopped due to the strength of the spirits trying to tear free. There was only so much any mortal could put up with.

Ranma materialized and kicked the father repeatedly until the man woke up. He promptly knocked the fool out, but then he had to stop. This wasn't like him - He wasn't a fighter. The atrocity demanded a response, but the response was too late. His brothers had died in pain, and now another innocent was going to die as well. Damn it! He had been hoping to find a strong ally here, but all he found was more death.

Unless…

There were two boys here. One faced death due to a lack of power, another faced death due to an excess of power. Could something be done? Could each be used for the other's salvation? He might be able to talk to his brothers trapped in the pigtailed boy and convince them not to destroy the youth by escaping. However, even if the spirits were idle, that was still too much power for one mortal that young to contain. There were at least fifty spirits Bound in the pigtailed boy. Was it possible to drain some of that energy off to his lad? He left the room and wondered outside into the moonlight to think on it further.

He'd have to forcefully Bind the two boys together, and on a very intimate level – their souls would be tied to one another. Besides allowing for a flow of spiritual energy between them, this would have many side effects - the biggest being that the two would be unconsciously aware of the other. Given the private natures of the two boys, this would grate on both of them, causing conflict until they learned to accept each other, especially since they would always be drawn together. While they would keep their own personalities, they would share many likes and dislikes between them. They would not be able to read each other's thoughts, but there would be a certain amount of shared knowledge pooled between them – especially with regards to physical abilities. What one could learn, the other would pick up easily. Initially, the flow of knowledge would be one sided in his lad's favor, but eventually things would even out between the boys.

Thinking it through, the idea had a lot of merit. The pigtailed boy would be allowed time to mature and come to terms with the spirits trapped inside of him, eventually making his own peace. Ranma's lad would rapidly gain power and skills at a far faster rate than normally possible. There were issues to be solved, of course. Usually, it wasn't possible to create such a Bind without the permission of the two souls involved, and neither soul was an adult. But, Ranma was the appointed guardian of his lad, which gave him certain amount of authority. As for the pigtailed boy, that lad had absorbed other spirits into his soul. If Ranma could get permission of the trapped spirits, then that would probably be enough. As it was, Ranma would first have to convince all of the trapped spirits not to break the pigtailed boy. If he could give them a choice of some sort, that might convince them a little more readily. He needed to toss the idea over in his mind a little more…

* * *

Several nights later, Ranma crept into the pigtailed boy's room with a lighted candle. There was a similar candle in his lad's room already lit, and he had used that candle to light this one. He placed the candle on the headboard of the bed the pigtailed boy slept in. He then lit two other candles from the headboard candle and placed these two at either end of the bed's footboard. Once done, he gave a sigh of relief – it had been important to get the head candle from one house to the other without it being extinguished. Ranma looked at pigtailed boy and then deepened the lad's sleep. The deeper the boy was under, the easier it would be to call the trapped spirits.

Ranma seated himself on the floor and began to chant in a screechy tone. No human tongue could ever reproduce the sound, but that was all right – no human ear could have heard half of it anyway. As the high pitched chant continued, all the light in the room faded except the candles illuminating the boy. Slowly, a faintly glowing mist began to rise out of the boy's body and fill the darkness. In the mist, Ranma could see shadowy shapes start to materialize and then fade away before gaining any real definition, over and over again. A whispering sound also began, hissing though the mist, slowly growing louder. Finally, the hissing resolved into echoing words: "We hear, great lord, and answer. Will you set us free?"

Ranma stopped his chanting and addressed the whispers: "You do not need me to set you free. Within one year's time, the child will die and you will be free," he replied quietly.

The whispers continued: "But if that happens, we will lose much of ourselves in the struggle."

"You will lose much more than that. If the child dies, you will also lose the opportunity to strengthen your spirits," Ranma answered.

"How so?" hissed the whispers.

Ranma continued: "The lad possesses a soul. This soul is capable of far more growth in a lifetime than any of you can achieve in a hundred lifetimes. If you accept the Binding of yourselves to him, you will grow as he does."

"This is true," acknowledged the spirits. "But the boy's mortal form cannot contain all of us. He is too young."

"Then I give you an option," challenged Ranma. "I can kill the boy, setting you free in a reduced state."

"Or?" the whispers echoed.

"I can arrange for a way to draw off the excess energy by sharing it with another lad, but you must agree to Bind yourselves to both boys," finished Ranma.

"We can only Bind ourselves to one soul."

"But I can arrange the second Bind to draw off the energy. You must simply allow it to happen."

The whispers seemed to discuss the matter among themselves, then addressed Ranma: "Many of us agree, but a few do not."

Ranma was quiet for a while, as if in great deliberation. Then he spoke: "Well, I can offer one more alterative to those who wish to leave. You can join my spirit and be my servants until I release you."

There was a good deal more discussion, but Ranma already knew the outcome – none of these spirits would accept enslavement. The whispers seemed to solidify into one echoing voice: "It has been decided. We accept our Binding to this boy, forced though it was."

Ranma pressed further: "You agree to hold the boy blameless for the Binding? It wasn't his idea after all."

"Yes, we hold no malice for the child. His father is another matter," the voice answered.

Ranma grinned. "Feel free to beat the father as often as you can." He continued: "Do you accept your Binding to my charge as I dictate?"

"So long as the Binding protects our soul," the voice replied, losing the echo now.

"So let it be said, so let it be done," finished Ranma.

The mist flowed back into the boy, and Ranma extinguished the two candles on the footboard. Ranma then used his claws to cut a small bit of hair from the pigtailed boy. He mixed a portion of the hair with some hair he had taken from his charge and burned the hair in the headboard candle. Ranma then extinguished the candle and gathered up his supplies. He quietly slipped downstairs and out the door, making his way back to his charge's house. Once there, Ranma slipped into the lad's room and burned another portion of hair in the still lit candle.

"Done!" he thought to himself satisfied. "Now I just need to hope the Bind works as I planned."

* * *

Several months had passed, and Ranma sat invisibly on the wall watching the two boys. The pigtailed boy was running ahead of Ranma's lad, teasing him unmercifully. As predicted, the two got along as well as fire and ice. Oh well, one day they would come to an understanding hopefully. In the meantime, things were working out. The pigtailed boy no longer showed any spiritual stresses – the contained spirits were content to stay within him. The boy's form was even better than before and he was developing even more skills now. Hopefully, some of those would be people skills. Ranma then grinned at another thought – the boy was also beating his father more and more.

The changes to Ranma's lad were far more profound though. His spirit was toughened from having to deal with containing the overflow energy. As a result, his will and determination had grown and would continue to do so. With the extra power, he was able to fend off the bullies with ease and obtain food more readily. He had filled out a great deal. He was also picking up techniques very quickly from instructional videos and from visiting various dojos (even though he couldn't find his way to one particular dojo repeatedly). Once he saw a kata or a form anywhere, if the pigtailed boy knew it, then the lad would pick it up immediately. Of course, the lad also learned a great deal fighting with the pigtailed boy directly, something which happened rather frequently. Not the ideal way to handle your spirit brother, but they both had some growing to do.

As they ran off toward school, Ranma stayed where he was thinking. The lad was now on a path of growth, despite the presence of the Oni. Maybe it was time to try and weaken the Oni in other ways. Ranma remembered back to the night the Oni had failed to claim the girl. Both the lad's shade and his father had vanished from the chain bearers' lines. Maybe yet another Hibiki descendent could be saved from the Oni. It was time to seek the answer to that question.

Ranma hopped down off the wall into a private yard and saw a small pond. He looked around and, seeing no one, became visible and smirked to himself. All right, he was a little vain – he couldn't get use to the fact that he could now see himself by the light of day…

* * *

Ranma woke up on a train with Akane sitting next to him, looking very anxious. "Wh-where are we?"

"We are on a train bound for the town nearest the Uryru farm. Are you all right?"

Ranma looked down at himself – nope, make that herself, and nodded. "You carried me?" she asked.

Akane nodded back. "Sorry for the cold water, but you're easier to handle in your girl form."

"It's all right. My girl form is faster anyway. I think speed more than strength is going to carry the day." She looked around and saw Nabiki, Kasumi, and Shizuka sitting across the aisle watching her. She nodded to them and then asked Akane: "Switch with me, OK? The c-cat was right. I got answers, and none of them are pleasant, but it's got to be told. How far out are we?"

As Akane got up, she said: "We have thirty minutes until we are there."

Ranma slid over and Akane sat close to her, something she really didn't mind. The other women slid as close as the seats would allow. Then she started, "When we last left our heroes…"

* * *

"So, Ryoga will face off against the Stone Oni tonight?" Nabiki asked.

"Yep. It's the Lost Boy's 19th birthday, or the official start of his twentieth year," answered Ranma. "Since Maomolin managed to hide Ryoga's dad, the Oni is under some constraints as to when he can absorb Ryoga. If we can keep Ryoga away from the Oni until sun rise, the Oni fades. We also need to keep Akari away from Ryoga and the Oni. She will be the Oni's main target since hurting her will maximize Ryoga's despair."

"So what's the plan of action?" Shizuka asked.

"We need to call the farm house and find out if Ryoga's there. If so, we need to get him and Akari separated by taking Ryoga away with us. If only Akari's there, we grab her and send her back to Nerima with Katsunishiki, while we find Ryoga."

"Ranma, how do plan to find Ryoga?" Akane chimed in. "Even he doesn't know where he is."

Ranma looked like she was lost in her own mind. "Actually, I can find Ryoga anywhere, just like he can always find me – eventually. That's why with a whole planet to get lost in, he always shows up again. Maomolin bound us together to keep us alive – we're linked right at the soul."

"And you never noticed?" Nabiki quizzed.

Ranma's face looked defensive. "Look, Ryoga's often been a pain to me. We use to be at each other's throats constantly. That's mellowed over the years, but I've never actually wanted to find him. He's never given me a chance to really miss him before he shows up again."

"So why do you want to help him?" Shizuka asked gently.

"Well, preventing the Stone Oni from returning to power is a good idea…." Ranma started.

"And?"

Ranma sighed: "And, with the exception of the people right here, Ryoga has been the closest I've ever had to a best friend. A best male friend anyway." She blushed as she caught a small smile on Akane's face.

Shizuka turned to Kasumi and commented: "You're right. There is hope for him yet…." This only caused Ranma to blush further.

Nabiki played with her phone for a few minutes. "It's no good," she said finally. "For some reason, I cannot get a signal."

Ranma sighed again. "Then we'll have to call from the station…"


	9. Katsunishiki

Chapter 9: Katsunishiki

The five women stood on the train platform looking at the phone with dismay. "It will not connect to the Unryu farm. I can call anyone else," Nabiki told them.

"That's a bit ominous," Shizuka understated.

"All right. So we call a cab and go there anyway," Akane said firmly.

As they moved toward the street, Ranma suddenly doubled over and dropped to her knees. Feelings not her own swept through her in rapid succession. "Oh shit…" she whispered. Her mind filled with malicious laughter and a small part of her felt hollow. She had never noticed this corner of her mind before – she had always been too full of her own concerns. Now, she was actually worried about Ryoga and that corner came to the forefront. Ranma wrestled with the emotions for a few moments, wringing meaning out of them, and then looked up. Kasumi and Akane were on either side of her, holding her shoulders.

"We have a big problem now," Ranma told them. "The Oni has Ryoga. He tried to fight it using the Shi Shi Hokoudan, and it drained him."

Nabiki answered the unspoken question in Shizuka's eyes, "It's an attack based on depression, hopeless, and despair. Given that the Oni is from Aokigahara, Ryoga just fed it a five course meal."

"It's the worst thing he could have done," Ranma agreed. "Obviously, Maomolin never explained anything about the Oni to Ryoga."

"Is he still alive?" Kasumi asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, he's there, just very weak right now. The Oni needs him alive to impregnate Akari," Ranma replied, straightening up. "It's also casting a spell to call Akari to them – it's using Ryoga as bait."

"Bloody Hell…Where are they? Shizuka asked.

Ranma looked out across the town, at the small mountain set behind it. "They're near the top of that mountain, about five kilometers from the farm. Akari's just setting out now. We have to get there quickly and cut her off." She turned to the other women to urge them forward and stopped at the resolute look on their faces.

"Go, Ranma. There's no way we can keep up with you," Akane told him quietly.

"But…we said we need to stay together," Ranma started.

Kasumi cut him off, "We'll be fine Ranma. We can take care of ourselves."

"NO. I'm not leaving you unguarded. This could be part of the plan…" she argued.

"If it is, they didn't count on me," Shizuka stated firmly. Ranma saw that a katana had appeared in Shizuka's hand. The edges of the blade crackled with a faint electric blue.

"And we are not without some training ourselves," Kasumi added. She was wearing her white gi again, and was holding her staff. Ranma wondered how she had missed it on the train.

"But it hasn't been long enough…" Ranma started to counter.

"Hah! Just keeping up with you over the last two years has been plenty, thank you very much!" Nabiki shot back. She had her arms folded across her chest, but each hand held a small throwing club.

"Please Ranma!" Akane urged. Her hands were glowing with red Chi. "You are the only one fast enough to get there in time. Don't let Ryoga die!"

Ranma looked at each of them, holding Akane's gaze the longest. "All right," Ranma said, drawing herself up. "Get to the farm and secure it. If I can get to Akari, I'll take her back there. The Oni will not kill Ryoga unless it's guaranteed a new life."

Ranma turned to go, but Shizuka called out "Ranma, wait a second." As she stopped to look at the Tai Chi Master, Shizuka tossed the backpack to Ranma. "It has a few things you might need."

Ranma grabbed the bag from the air and nodded her acknowledgement. With that, she leaped up on the closest roof and made her way speedily toward the edge of town.

* * *

Ranma tore through the woods, tracking the inner compass that told her where Ryoga was. She was also formulating battle plans in her head, evaluating them and discarding them as fast as possible. All of them had boiled down to the same thing – she must intercept Akari. The big problem was that Katsunishiki was likely to be with her, even if she was in a trance. Talking to Akari wasn't likely to work. Ranma would have to knock her out and take her back to the farm. Even if she used a sleep point, the sumo pig was likely to take exception to the treatment of his mistress, which meant trouble for Ranma. Ryoga was strong enough to knock the giant animal out. Ranma might have been strong enough in her male form (she had never really tried herself against the big pig). Unfortunately, speed was needed more right now and she was fairly certain that her current form would not be able to take out the animal without some serious damage to herself, Akari, or Katsunishiki. ***Sigh*** First things first – find Akari. She tried to push herself faster, but she was already at her limit, devouring ground despite the think brush and tightly packed trees. With a large leap, she took to the trees, counting on the age of the forest to provide large enough perches to take the next leap.

As she moved, Ranma gradually became aware of a faint sound from somewhere up ahead. As the race continued, the sound resolved itself into a quiet graceful music. At first, Ranma ignored it, figuring it was from a nearby campsite, but the music seemed to slip inside her ears and wrap itself around her. It sounded as if it was played by a small flute ensemble. There were no words to the elegant woodwind piece, but it seemed to convey images wrapped in the very core of the melody. Even without slowing her pace, Ranma found her mind drifting with the song. She imagined a peaceful country-side filled with gentle meadows. She was standing on top of a flower covered hill, watching children roll down the sides of the hill. At her feet, was a picnic lunch she had laid out for her family. She felt someone come up and stand beside her. She reached out and took the hand of her husb…

With a sudden shock that felt like a dozen trumpets blasting in her ear, the image fell apart. Ranma nearly missed the next jump and had to scramble upon landing to stay up in the trees. Shaking herself off quickly, she continued on. What the *hell* was that? She didn't have to wait long for her answer though. The music returned. This time, she was more aware of it. Again, it tried to weave itself into her mind, and paint an image, but it couldn't complete the scene. Ranma's mind wasn't responding appropriately. Ranma nodded grimly to herself, recognizing the music for what it was – the Oni's call. It didn't even target Akari specifically. The damn thing was a general call to any woman in the area. Ranma remembered the first vision she had dreamed and found her anger growing. The song promised love, companionship, faith and family. The reality was rape, pain, betrayal, and death. Her anger communicated itself to her body and she was moving faster than she ever had before. She was going to rip that thing limb from limb.

She was three-quarters up the mountain when she heard the first deep squeal. Katsunishiki. She oriented on it and prayed the giant was with its mistress. Up ahead she saw trees shake and crash. There was a tremendous amount of noises. At the speed Ranma was moving, she almost overshot the sumo pig entirely. The animal was plowing a path through the forest that a bulldozer couldn't match. She scanned the giant and swore "Damn it!" Akari wasn't with the animal. Quickly Ranma oriented on the direction Katsunishiki was pushing its way toward and scanned the forest.

YES! Akari was about 100 meters ahead dodging through the underbrush. The song had her running as fast as she could, but fortunately, the pink dress she was wearing was slowing her down. Still Ranma was in awe that Katsunishiki was that close to her – it spoke volumes about the pig's devotion to Akari. Ranma raced ahead and closed the distance quickly, not even bothering to shout to Akari. Ranma had heard that song and knew there was no escape once the spell was cast. She dropped down from the trees right behind Akari and hit the girl's sleep point, catching Akari before she could hit the ground.

Ranma let out a big breath. O.K. One problem down, but the next was crashing toward her. "Damn it! Think!" she told herself. Ryoga was able to get along well enough with the pig. Of course, he *was* part pig. She scanned through her memories looking for any remembered interactions between Ryoga and the pig, but she had no clear thoughts. "Come on! He and I are linked – what one knows, the other can learn!" she urged herself. Suddenly a memory arose in her thoughts – a sound and a gesture that Ryoga had often used when greeting Katsunishiki. Ranma dropped to one knee and set Akari's sleeping form on the upright knee, leaning Akari into her shoulder, which freed Ranma's right hand. She then made sure she had a good grip on Akari. Ranma hoped the pig wouldn't rush her if it thought it might hurt its mistress.

The brush in front of Ranma gave way and Katsunishiki appeared. Ranma did not like the wild look the animal gave her. Forcing herself not to rush the gesture, Ranma half stretched her hand out to the pig, and let it drop, sweeping it to the right while making a soft grunting noise. Then she said a quick silent prayer. However, the affect on the pig was better than she hoped for – Katsunishiki relaxed and focused on Ranma. The giant then approached slowly and looked at Akari leaning on Ranma's shoulder. Ranma spoke softly to the pig, knowing that the tone more than the words was important.

"She's all right, boy. She's just sleeping."

Katsunishiki nuzzled Akari, as if verifying Ranma's words, but made no other moves. Slowly, Ranma laid Akari down and took off the backpack Shizuka had tossed her. "Let's see if Shizuka is as intelligent as she looks, shall we?" Ranma opened the backpack and found a tarp and ropes (among other things). Perfect. Ranma checked Akari again (discretely poking a sleep point) and looked up at the pig. Again, watching her tones more than her words, Ranma told Katsunishiki, "O.K. boy, guard her while I find some poles to make a carrier for Akari." For a second, Ranma almost swore the pig nodded at her. She would have to talk to Ryoga about the animal's intelligence later.

Ranma returned shortly with some stout sticks and flexible branches to find the sumo pig sitting by Akari, keeping patient guard. She addressed Katsunishiki: "We need to get Akari home, or rather you need to get her home." Stroking the animal's cheek, she was no longer surprised to see intelligence in its eyes – not a human's intelligence, but maybe just enough to get the job done. Moving quickly with the aid of the Roasting Chestnuts technique, she a built flexible frame that could be tied on to Katsunishiki's back. She then addressed the animal in steady tones and motioned with her hands: "O.K. Katsunishiki, I need you to stand up."

Fortunately, the giant did just that. Ranma continued to talk to Katsunishiki as she placed the frame on the animal's back and tied it to the pig. She explained what she was doing, doubting that Katsunishiki understood her, but relying more on her tones to convey her meaning. When she was done, she pushed and prodded the frame trying to make sure it stayed on tight. Suddenly the pig shook itself like a dog coming out of a lake. Ranma had to hold on tight to prevent herself from being tossed away. As it was, she ended up on top of Katsunishiki's back, holding on for dear life. When the pig stopped, it looked back over its shoulder at her. Ranma swore the pig looked smug. "Very funny," she told it. "Well, if it survived that, it will survive anything."

She hopped down (a little surer of her plan now) and carefully wrapped Akari in the tarp, much like a sleeping bag. She then hopped up on Katsunishiki's back again and tied the tarp containing the sleeping girl securely to the frame (also taking the time to poke Akari's sleep points yet again). Once everything was secure, Ranma jumped back down and addressed Katsunishiki: "O.K. boy, take her home. Akane and the rest will be waiting for you at the other end."

Katsunishiki stood for second considering Ranma and suddenly lunged forward, trying to grab Ranma by the back of the collar. Ranma flowed out of the way and immediately climbed a tree. "No," she said firmly. "Go home now!"

The pig stood its ground and stamped one of its front feet.

"If I leave with you, Ryoga dies. I have to go get him. You can't come. If you do, Akari will die," she told Katsunishiki, ignoring the fact that she was arguing with a farm animal.

The sumo pig regarded her with frustration clearly showing on its face.

Ranma decided to try her trump card – she made puppy dog eyes at the pig. "Please Katsunishiki? Please trust me and do what I say?"

With a sigh and a grumble (no doubt complaining about foolish humans), Katsunishiki turned around and began to re-trace the copious evidence of its passage through the woods. Ranma stayed where she was, watching until she was sure the pig would do what it was told. She then looked up the mountain, where she was sure Ryoga was.

The Oni's song was still in her ears. It had never gone away the entire time she dealt with Akari and Katsunishiki. However, the song was now more insistent, as if sensing that Ranma was the nearest female now. That suited her just fine. If it was concentrating on her, then it wasn't seeking other victims. She laughed to herself as the song broke into dissonant chords once more, seeking to re-organize itself. Ranma's body may be female, but her – or rather his – preferences never changed. The Jusenkyo pool should have been called "Spring of the Drowned Lesbian." The Oni was in for one hell of a shock. Ranma began moving swiftly up the mountain again.


	10. Battle

Chapter 10: Battle

Ryoga looked up at the Oni and grimly noted with some satisfaction that the thing looked frustrated. It had been staring at the woods for a good hour or so, growing more and more impatient. "Where is she?" it grumbled. "I can feel her nearby, but she's taking her sweet time."

"Maybe she's given up on me," Ryoga taunted from the ground. "Looks like you won't get your new body after all, asshole."

"NO! I've worked too long to fail now!" it shouted at Ryoga. "Shut your mouth or I'll kill you now, little worm!"

"Go for it, jackass! Then we can go to Hell together!" Ryoga shouted back at the Oni.

The Oni started to raise a foot to crush Ryoga and backed down. Ryoga pressed his advantage: "Your nothing but a coward," he sneered. "You should have died long ago, but you're afraid of death. Or rather, you're afraid of Judgment. But, it's coming. I can feel it. We'll both die together, but I'm not afraid of death."

"Silence!" The Oni kicked Ryoga, punting him ten meters. Ryoga landed hard, but shrugged it off. Ranma had hit him much harder than that when they were only sparring. Not only that, but Ryoga was beginning to regain his strength – whatever the Oni had taken from him was being replaced. Oddly enough, it wasn't the usual negative emotions, but it felt more like defiance or even (dare he think it?) optimism. He pulled himself up into a sitting position. He taunted it again:

"Face it jerkoff – you could not kill my father and now you'll fail to kill me."

"No! You're already dead!" it yelled back.

"Really? Then Hell is coming for you!" Ryoga shot back. "I cannot wait to watch."

The Oni ran forward, covering the distance with astonishing speed, and slapped Ryoga hard, almost throwing Ryoga out of the circle Ryoga saw carved on the ground. The blow stunned Ryoga for a moment, but he quickly shook it off. The Oni ran forward with astonishment and fear showing on its face. "You should be dead from that blow – how are you still alive?"

"Maybe I'm tougher that I look asshole. Or maybe your weaker than you think," Ryoga copied one of Ranma's maddening smirks. "Looks like you cannot compel Akari here. She's stronger than you think too."

The Oni ran up to tower over Ryoga. "No!" it screamed. "The foolish little bitch loves you! She will come and you will rape her! As soon as she crosses the Circle, it will close and you will be compelled!"

This stunned Ryoga for a minute – Akari loved him? She barely knew him, how could she love him? But with the confusion, another emotion began to flood into him - anger. He would not hurt someone who cared for him! And with the anger, more strength began to flood into him. Soon, he'd be able to walk again and he'd leave the Circle. He hated to run from an enemy, but it was better to escape the trap and seek revenge later than to allow the trap to be sprung. Maybe he could trick the Oni it knocking him out of the circle? He sat up and taunted the thing again: "So, can you feed on your own despair then?"

The Oni looked ready to smack Ryoga again, but stopped once it raised its arm. Its head rotated away from Ryoga and looked at the woods near the far end of the circle. "Yes!" it hissed malevolently. "She comes!"

Ryoga began to panic. He shouted out: "Akari! NO! Run away quickly!"

The Oni pushed Ryoga to the ground and turned the rest of its body to face the far edge of the circle. Ryoga heard someone leave the woods and walk toward him. Suddenly, a putrid green wall of energy sprung up from the inscribed circle and rose to form a dome, trapping Ryoga, the Oni, and the newcomer inside. Ryoga felt lust begin to fill his frame. "No!" he gritted to himself.

The Oni began to talk to the newcomer, but blocked Ryoga's view. "You're a pretty little thing aren't you? We'll have to fix that…" Ryoga heard no answer. The Oni reached behind and grabbed Ryoga, then strode forward. Ryoga shut his eyes tight, refusing to look at Akari. The creature then threw Ryoga towards the girl and laughed. "You might as well look, little mouse. The lust is growing and you know she's there."

Ryoga turned his head and opened his eyes, staring at the Oni. "FUCK YOU."

The stone monstrosity strode to stare down menacingly at Ryoga. "No, no, little mouse. You mean fuck her!"

"I don't think so, pal!" a new voice called out. Ryoga's eyes widened at the voice, all the better to see a bright blue ball of Chi slam into the Oni throwing it hard against the green wall of force. Ryoga spun, momentarily forgetting all about the enhanced lust filling his body. His eyes took in the view of a red-haired girl wearing a pig-tail, standing at the far edge. While the eyes watched Ryoga warily, Ryoga could still see the amusement in the young woman's bright blue orbs and the smirk on her face.

Ranma Saotome.

Ranma looked at Ryoga and then spoke: "You can try, Ryoga, but you may want to hold off. Akari might want kids some day."

Ryoga began to shake with the thoughts filling his head: "Ranma – the Oni managed to trap Ranma. A guy in a girl's body. The ultimate tomboy – and he *knew* the truth." The shaking grew violent as emotions began to overload his system. He couldn't hold it in. It was going to escape him. The emotions were just too powerful. Ryoga tilted back his head and let them out:

"BAH HA HA HA HA HA!"

With the laughter, energy rushed into Ryoga. He rose to his feet and looked at Ranma smirking. Then he turned to the Oni. "You absolute moron!" Ryoga crowed at the stone thing. "Ranma – you called Ranma!" Confusion appeared on the Oni's face.

Ranma answered: "Actually, he didn't call me. Akari did respond, but she's peacefully sleeping right now with Katsunishiki watching over her. It might be interesting to see if jerk-face could stand against the sumo pig though. Slime-ball uses a song to call his victims. I can hear the song, but it has no power over me for obvious reasons."

"NO!" the Oni shouted. "Maybe you're not the girl he loves, but he will rape you!" The Oni gestured at Ryoga.

Ryoga could feel the lust rise again, but it couldn't hold. He just shook his head as light laugher ran from him. "No asshole. I'm not into guys, no matter what you do."

The Oni looked at Ryoga as if he was mad. "That's a girl!"

Ranma smirk grew even wider. "Physically? Yes, idiot. Mentally and spiritually? Nope, and Ryoga knows this. Even if I somehow became pregnant, I cannot carry a baby to term - my curse would kick in. You lose."

Shocked recognition dawned on the Oni face as it placed who Ranma was. "NOOO! I WILL NOT LOSE! I'll kill you and get a true girl yet!" it screamed.

Ryoga raised an eyebrow. "Kill Ranma? You could try, but better than you have tried and failed. Besides, doesn't this trap stay in place until I'm dead?" The Oni's mouth dropped open.

"Naw," Ranma answered instead. "It will probably open at sunrise. That's when screw-up's time is up. It failed to kill your father, so it's under a time constraint. If it doesn't create a new body before then, Hell comes for it."

Ryoga raised the other eyebrow. "How do you know that? And what is this thing?" he asked.

"We can discuss the how later, brother dearest," Ranma mockingly told Ryoga. Then her voice firmed up and grew serious. "What you need to know is that the walking pile of rocks is the Stone Oni of Aokigahara."

"Aokigahara?" Ryoga puzzled. "Isn't that the Wood of the Suicides?"

"Yep. Your ancestor, Iko Hibiki, slew the Oni twenty generations ago. Somehow, it avoided hell and took up residence in that statue. Since then, it's sought revenge on your family by driving each of them to despair, and then feeding on them. The sense-of-direction curse you and your parents suffer from is caused by the Oni. That's why your mom "caught" it – the Oni inflicted on her. Basically, it waits long enough for the victim (always male) to father a son, and then hammers on him until he takes his own life – or at least dies in despair. You were to be the last one – your son was to serve as the Oni's new body."

"There's no way you could know that…" the Oni hissed at Ranma.

"Ah, but there is, stone-face. What was that line now? 'As you rise, so shall your enemy – the Balance is always preserved.' Well your enemy did arise, and he works against you. He's a meek sort of fellow, and works behind the scenes, but he has been at work. That's why you couldn't find Ryoga's dad; that's why Ryoga is stronger than you think he should be, and that's why I'm involved – I was dragged into this. Your enemy bound Ryoga and myself at the soul, linking us together, allowing us the share strength. Although I suppose I shouldn't complain too loudly, if your enemy hadn't interceded on my behalf, I'd be dead by now," Ranma finished.

"You lie! There is no Balance!" the Oni screamed at him.

"That's where I'm lying?" Ranma questioned the Oni. "You don't even bother to deny the other stuff. You made the Hibiki family suffer for generations solely to feed you."

"Fool, that's what you humans are – food. Your existence is torment and pain from the moment you're born until the day you die in agony, and I'm there for every minute of it. The glorious part is that I don't have to do a thing. You do it to each other!" The thing turned to Ryoga and laughed, "He blames me, but isn't it 'all Ranma's fault', Hibiki?"

Three months ago, Ryoga would have agreed, but the wedding was still in his head. So was the discussion with Konatsu. His thoughts tumbled over themselves: "All Ramna's fault? What about Mousse's and my betrayal of Ranma? My sleeping in Akane's bed solely to drive Ranma wild? My unprovoked attacks on Ranma? 'Ranma prepare to die'? And why was Ranma here now? Yes, Ranma was a jerk – but he was less a jerk than he had been. And he's less of a jerk than I have been." Ryoga looked at the Oni and spoke out loud, "Yeah, Ranma and I have fought a lot, but I think I have something to do with that too."

The Oni looked at Ryoga in shock (so did Ranma for that matter). Then the thing regained its haughty demeanor and rumbled "So you have forgotten Jusenkyo?"

Ryoga shrugged his shoulders. "No, but he's tried to make it up to me, and I suppose if you are foolish enough to play with fire, you are going to get burned. Who knows what pool I might have fallen into if he hadn't bumped into me? He didn't ask me to follow him, and it wasn't his choice to go there in the first place."

"But now you are both cursed forever!" the thing sneered.

Ranma was one step ahead of the Oni though and spoke quickly, "Watch out buddy, it's going to tell us now that there is no cure at Jusenkyo. It's trying to make us despair – it's looking for a hold on either of us."

Ryoga looked at the red-haired girl wistfully. "It's all right Ranma. I figured out about a month or so ago that if Taro accumulated curses, so would we. Your form would become a hermaphrodite, and I'd look something like a wereboar or some other type of man-pig combo." Ryoga saw Ranma sigh and shake it off. For his own part, Ryoga straighten up and looked at the Oni again. "What else do you have in your bag of tricks?"

The Stone Oni glared balefully at Ryoga. "I need no tricks, little worm. The truth will do just fine. You were mine from the minute you were born. You've spent your life alone and even if you somehow beat me, you will still be alone. Your little girl friend will grow up eventually and get a real man, just like Akane did – although considering what Akane replaced you with, it only shows how far down the ladder you really are." Ranma threw the Oni a black look at this comment. The creature continued though: "Your father will never return from the lands he's hidden in, and your mother will also remain lost. Your curses will continue to separate you from the rest of humanity. Even if I vanish at sunrise, you will howl out the rest of your miserable existence alone. You cannot even hope for better."

Ryoga winced as the truth of the matter hit him. He was the wanderer, never able to keep in one place no matter how hard he tried. What woman would put up with that? What friends could he keep? He felt the depression begin to gather again.

"Ryoga! NO!" Ranma called out. "The biggest lie ever invented is that there is no hope! That thing will tell you whatever it takes to drive you mad."

"BUT THERE IS NO HOPE! HE'LL BE ALONE FOREVER!" the Oni yelled, feeling Ryoga reaching a precipice.

"BULLSHIT!" Ranma yelled back. "He'll always have *me* asshole. The two of us have a link between us. It has been keeping us both alive for years, whether we knew it or not. Why else does he always come back to me? As soon as he becomes aimless, he ends up in my backyard. If I'm the only destination he can reach consistently, then at least he'll have a friend willing to take him in. It might take him a few days longer than everyone else, but if he decides to find me, he does. How else did he find me in Nerima? Pop and I didn't exactly leave a forwarding address. Hell, how did he even find me at Jusenkyo?"

Ryoga felt as if someone just slapped him. Did Ranma just call him a friend? Did he just hear "He'll always have me"? But Ranma and the Oni were still screaming at each other, not allowing Ryoga to concentrate on the implications of Ranma's speech.

"BECAUSE I TELEPORTED HIM TO CHINA, MAGGOT. HE'S NOT BRIGHT ENOUGH TO GET A BOAT."

Ranma screeched back at the Oni: "SO WHAT? EVERY TIME HE'S GOTTEN SPECTACULARLY LOST, IT'S BECAUSE YOU'VE BEEN JUMPING HIM AROUND THE PLANET? YOU'RE NOT POWERFUL ENOUGH TO DO THAT, YOU WEAKLING!"

"SCREW YOU BITCH! I GOT EIGHTEEN GENERATIONS OF DESPAIR TO WORK WITH – I'M FAR MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU CAN EVEN DREAM. YOU CAN ONLY GET SO MUCH DONE WITH BRAIN DAMAGE AND A CURSE TO THROW OFF COMPASSES."

Now Ryoga was truly stunned. The despair left him completely. The Oni shut up immediately, realizing it just made a strategic mistake. Ryoga turned to Ranma. "Where the hell did you learn that trick?"

Ranma was buffing her nails on her shirt looking smug. "Hey, you can only hang around Nabiki so long…" She raised her eyes to Ryoga's. "One," she said in a low voice.

"Two," Ryoga countered.

"THREE!" they both yelled, slamming the Oni with Chi blasts simultaneously. Ranma's blue blast reflected her confidence (as always), but it also reflected her tremendous anger at the creature. Ryoga's green blast was no longer soaked in despair, but in a fierce combination of anger and revenge. The Oni flew backwards against the barrier again with his head bouncing several times. Cracks appeared all over its body as it slumped to the ground, falling forward face down. It climbed to its hands and knees and raised its face towards its attackers.

"That was annoying little mice, but that's all it was," it growled at them. The cracks on its body closed and vanished. "You will grovel before me and know true Despair before you die."

Ryoga had backed toward Ranma, but was still between Ranma and the Oni. The Oni charged forward intending to crush Ryoga, but Ryoga touched the ground in front of him, opening a large crack stretching from him toward the Oni. The Oni could not stop quickly enough and fell into the crack. Ryoga leaped into action and quickly touched one side of the crack and then the other. The crack closed with the Oni inside it.

There was no time for congratulations though. The ground erupted with the Oni throwing its head and shoulders clear of the surface. It was trying to get enough purchase to climb the rest of the way out of the ground, when Ranma bounced off of the green dome to land on top of the Oni's head. She then slammed the Oni with a few hundred roasting-chestnuts punches to the skull. The Oni swatted at her, but missed completely as Ranma dropped to the ground, kicking and breaking off part of the Oni's jaw. The jaw piece flew over by Ryoga who yelled "Breaking Point" loudly before touching the piece and shattering it to sand.

"ARRUGH!" yelled the creature in terrific pain. It slammed its arms forward trying to smash Ranma, who was long gone. It then followed through with the action, lifting itself out of the ground by its arms. As it stood to survey its enemies, Ranma ran behind the thing and launched two fast strikes behind the knees. Ryoga, who was only judged to be slow moving when compared to Ranma, smashed his feet squarely into the Oni's chest, knocking it back and down. Both mortals were then at the fallen statue's side invoking the Breaking Point touch all along the chest before dodging the arms closing on them.

The thing bellowed in agony as the two leapt clear, but didn't seem to take any real damage from the Breaking Points. It sat up and ran its hands over its face, seeming to pull down stone as if it were clay. When the hands cleared the face, it had a new smaller jaw. It then snarled "That was inconvenient little worms. No one has ever done that to me, so I think no one will suffer as much as you two will. You will taste utter Despair before you died, and I will drink your souls."

Ryoga looked astounded. "Seriously dude? You've been around how long and that's all you got to say?" He began a series of rapid strikes at the ground.

"Who writes your lines? Elmer Fudd?" Ranma taunted in her high pitched voice before she blurred out of sight.

The Oni ignored Ryoga and concentrated on tracking the near invisible girl as she raced along the surface of the dome, seemingly defying gravity. When it thought it had her motions pegged, it fire stone spikes at Ranma figuring that the girl would not anticipate the attack. Ranma caught the spikes and hurled them rapidly back at the Oni, nailing it in the eyes. Another scream tore out of its throat. Just then, Ryoga yelled "Standing Wave!" striking the ground like a bolt of lightning. A two meter wave of earth and stone rose and rippled toward the Stone Oni, ripping its feet out from under it and carrying it toward the far side of the energy dome. As it passed under Ranma, who had been trying to get behind the Oni, she twisted and fell toward the creature, landing so her hands pushed on the protruding spikes with the entire weight of her fall. The Oni howled and then involuntarily slammed its hands forward, smacking Ranma away from it. She flew back dazed toward Ryoga. He saw his partner's plight and leapt to catch her before she hit the dome behind him. Meanwhile, the wave of earth battered the Oni into the far side of the dome, before collapsing on top of it.

Ryoga looked at Ranma as she staggered to her feet. "You're alive?" he asked.

"I rolled as much as I could with the strike, and it was a glancing blow," she replied, shaking the stars from her head.

Ryoga looked at the far side. "You don't suppose…" he began.

"Not a chance," Ranma answered. Sure enough there was an explosion of dirt at the far end. The thing dug itself out. Its body was covered in large cracks. Then it seemed to draw in its breath, and the cracks vanished. The Oni looked around and spied them. With a roar it charged across the clearing at them.

"You know," Ryoga said causally. "I think it's a little smaller."

Ranma studied the running statue nonchalantly. "I think your right, but we need to up the damage quotient a bit," she answered. "Otherwise, it might wear us down.

"Hmmm…" Ryoga pondered. "I wonder how much damage the dome can withstand before breaking."

"It's a thought," Ranma said agreeably. "You know, it's getting pretty angry too." The Oni was half way through its charge. "You think you can set the pace for once?"

"Was that a challenge, pig-tail?" Ryoga mocked, mimicking Ranma's voice. "You know I never refuse a challenge."

The Oni leapt at the two bantering martial artists determined to grind their bones against the dome. Unfortunately, they were no longer there as it hit the dome full force. More cracks appeared on its body, but before it could heal itself, Ryoga appeared next to it and cried "Breaking Point!" jamming his finger into a crack. A chunk the size of his fist flew off from the thing's body, and Ranma quickly turned the chunk to sand. The statue howled as Ryoga separated more pieces off the body which Ranma destroyed. Finally, the Oni swung its arms wide and behind forcing the teenagers to back off. The head rotated to face them, but they had backed quickly toward the center of the clearing.

The Oni now had a good crater in its side. It stood and grabbed its large belly, using the mass to fill in the hole. Once done, it studied the two martial artists standing at mid-field. Then it drew in a large breath, and exhaled a black mist at its two opponents. In response, Ranma raised her arms and sent a wintry blast at the mist. There was an explosion as the two met, and then darkness rolled out from the collision point. Soon, all light was lost in that darkness.

"You won't defeat Despair that easily, little girl," the Oni growled out with a laugh.

Ranma felt the darkness working on her spirit. While she could not see anything, she seemed to hear Akane crying for help. Ranma stopped herself from panicking only by reminding herself that the dome was in place – nothing could get in or out until it was down. Akane wasn't there. Still, she heard Akane scream as the Oni suddenly laughed, then a sickening crunch echoed throughout the darkness as Akane's scream suddenly cut off.

"Akari!"" Ryoga howled.

The sound told Ranma that Ryoga was near her, so she quickly grabbed the Lost Boy and stopped him from moving. "Ryoga! We're still inside the dome! Akari's not here." While she couldn't see him, she could feel the conflict in his stance. "There's nothing there - just mud-face."

"That's right girl, there's nothing there. Your loved one is dead and now you're alone in the world," the Oni gloated, its voice seeming to come from everywhere.

"It's not real. All you have are lies," Ranma hissed out. Her danger sense kicked in and she forced Ryoga to follow her away from the center.

"Lies?" the Oni laughed back. "This is all you're born with and all you die with – just darkness. It's everything else that's lies. The darkness of the grave is the only truth."

Ranma kept her hand on Ryoga's shoulder. She could feel his trembling growing. The darkness was working on her too, but Ryoga had spent too much time alone with his own dark side. Every Shi-Shi Hokoudan he had ever thrown was returning to haunt him.

"You know I'm right Ryoga," the Oni gloated. "Loss is the only true constant in the universe. It's a law of Thermodynamics after all." The sickening crunch sounded again. "A parent," Another crunch sounded. "Then the other parent." Another crunch. "A sibling – Oh, that's right you don't have a sibling. I guess that was just your empty heart."

Ranma yelled out, "Don't you get tired of the same old ploy? He's got me shit head. No matter where he goes, he'll always know where I am and he'll be able to find me."

"And what are you to him, girl?" the voice sneered back.

As Ranma scrambled for a way to respond, an image filled Ranma's head. It was a scene out of their stay at the Haunted Spring resort. Ranma and Ryoga had given up trying to beat each other at Space Invaders (TM) and were sitting on the floor in front of a couch. Nabiki and Akane were sitting on opposite ends of the couch, curled up. All four were watching the television and smiling. The Muppet Show (TM) was on and they were watching two Muppets doing a skit. One Muppet was three meters tall, a large shaggy monster. The other was maybe 10 centimeters tall, a small green frog. The song they were singing came easily to Ranma's memory, so she lifted her head and began to sing in the darkness:

"_Two lost souls on the highway of life_

_We ain't even got a sister or brother_

_Ain't it just great, ain't it just grand?_

_We've got each other!"_

"_Two lost ships on a stormy sea_

_One with no sails and one with no rudder_

_Ain't it just great, ain't it just grand?_

_We've got each other!"_

"_We're two lost souls on the highway of life_

_And there's no one with whom we would ruther_

_Say, 'Ain't it just great, ain't it just grand?'_

_We've got each other!"_

"_We've got a lot because we've got each other!_

_We've got each other."_

There was silence when Ranma finished her song. Suddenly, beside her, laughter erupted and the Lost Boy became visible to her. "The Muppet Show? Really?"

"Hey, it's one of the few times when we actually enjoyed each other's company," Ranma shot back with a smirk on her face. "You know, that was also one of the few times I heard you laugh besides today." She changed their position again, following her inner senses.

"Heh. Maybe," Ryoga replied. Then his face became pensive. "Were you serious about being linked at the soul?"

Ranma's smirk withdrew to a small smile. "Yes, Ryoga. We're Spirit Brothers. Like it or not, we are family."

"I think I can deal with that, so long as I don't have to consider Genma my father," Ryoga said with a roll of the eyes.

"Hell no! I wouldn't wish that on anyone!" Ranma shuddered theatrically.

Suddenly the Oni's appeared in the darkness towering above Ranma. "So, let's go back to that point about siblings…" its voice rang out cruelly, as it dropped its joined hands towards Ranma's unprotected head with blinding speed.

As Ranma prepared to dodge, she heard Ryoga shout "NO!" and felt herself shoved out of the way. She heard a horrible crunch behind her and a wrench within her soul as she tumbled and rolled to regain her footing. Suddenly, the darkness vanished. She looked quickly overhead to see that the sun was gone and the evening stars had come out.

* * *

AN: See you in a few….


	11. The Cat Fist Perfected

Chapter 11: The Cat Fist Perfected

Ranma spun to stare at the Oni. It was looking down into the deep impression that its fists made on the ground. Ranma stood stunned watching it. Ryoga was nowhere to be seen. "No….No…" the Oni repeated to itself. "He didn't despair…he sacrificed himself instead. No…" It looked at the unblocked sky, as if measuring the flow of time. "I've got to find his father. It's the only way I can survive. I've got until sunrise to set things right…he's got to be around somewhere." It turned and began to walk out of the clearing.

Rage filled Ranma's thoughts. "No way. No way he kills Ryoga and gets to walk off." Battle aura sprung up around her.

As she made to leap at the Oni, Ranma's thoughts were suddenly filled with the image of Maomolin's face surrounded by out-stretched claws, teeth bared, and hissing at him. "LOOK, RANMA! LOOK AT THE BIRDIE!"

Ranma felt the all-consuming fear spring up from her core, but instead of fighting it, she merged it with her rage and grief, surrendering to it instead. "COME!" she cried to those that shared her spirit. "COME AND AVENGE OUR BROTHER!"

The Oni heard a growl behind it and figured the girl was about to do something stupid. It decided that it would kill her quickly and not bother trying to feed from her – it only had until sunrise to find the last Hibiki after all. As it turned, it was smashed to the ground. It rotated its head to stare into the jaws of a giant glowing panther! The jaws enclosed its head and tried to close. The Oni felt the teeth scrape across its face causing tremendous pain. It screamed and began to beat on the cat, but the blows were ineffective. Pain blossomed down its side and legs as it felt the hind claws rip into it. The front claws embraced its back and chest to provide leverage for the jaws. The pressure exerted through those hugging claws felt almost as bad as the claws shredding its lower extremities. In agony, the Oni managed to bring its legs up coiled under the big cat and shoved the animal of itself. The Stone Oni quickly climbed to its feet and studied the animal, which was now between the Oni and the forest, not that the forest would provide any protection from the creature – it was obviously made for wooded terrain. The huge shouldered animal was easily two and a half meters long from shoulder to hind-quarters and had a massive head equipped with powerful jaws. There was no yellow or gold in the cat's eyes, but rather a vivid violet-blue color. The legs were heavily muscled with huge paws; there would be no out-running the feline. While the cat's hide was of some dark color, the creature was surrounded by a brilliant blue aura. A long tail whipped the night, completing the ensemble.

The Oni looked down in shock at the damage the cat had done. There were huge tears all along the body and some of the gashes were half-way through the legs. As the stone monstrosity watched the cat begin to stalk towards it, it decided to heal itself before it killed the cat. The statue drew in a deep breath, seeming to suck itself back together. However, something was wrong; the healing was painful and the gouges didn't vanish completely. The Oni looked like it was covered in a network of angry scars. As the Oni wondered at the disfiguration, the cat stalked closer causing the Oni to back up. There was something very strange about the animal, not necessarily Otherworldly, but more Elemental. The monster summoned a large stone mace to allow for some distance in the dealing with the creature.

The Oni leaped, swinging the mace at the cat one-handedly. The feline slashed with one paw, slitting the mace into four long slivers. The Oni dropped the demolished weapon with an oath and grabbed the now-weaponless hand with its free hand. It saw in horror that the palm had been slit so that it appeared that its fingers originated at the wrist. It tried to heal the hand to no avail, being forced to mold the palm back together again with its free hand. It backed away faster from the advancing cat.

Suddenly, the cat stopped with an astonished look on its glowing face. Just then, the Oni felt something grab one of its ankles and lift it straight up into the air. A voice shook the air, sounding like a pronouncement of Doom: "You haunted and tortured my family for generations. You enslaved the Earth elementals and stole their power. You ruled over the corrupted woods, singing death into the ears of the despondent. Today, you will take your rightful place in Hell!" Ryoga Hibiki leapt high into the air and slammed the Oni into the ground embedding it two meters.

The Lost Boy shone brightly with a strong blue aura. Ryoga had never felt like this before in his life. Power flowed through his core, straight from his brother. He looked at Ranma. He had heard of the Cat Fist from Akane, but somehow, he doubted the condition had ever manifested itself quite like this. In his anger and grief, Ranma had surrendered totally to the Cat Fu, becoming one with the cat spirits sharing his soul and unleashing an awesome energy. Even in death, that energy had reached out to Ryoga through their shared Binding, giving him the choice of returning.

It seemed to Ryoga that days had passed while he spoke with the "Guide" on the Other Side. Obviously, it was a matter of minutes. The Guide had been rough with him, pointing out how much he had been given, and how much he ignored in his self-pity. Once he had recognized the extent of Ranma's grief, and the others who would grieve because they considered themselves his friends, Ryoga had stepped back into his shattered body, healing it. He had friends – the thought warmed him. He owed them all, and it was time to pay them back and make amends. First things first though.

Ryoga began to roll up his sleeves while staring grimly at the Oni. Ranma slid up to him, rubbing against his side, also while watching the Oni. Ryoga allowed his hand to automatically stroke the great cat's back. The two looked at each other, sharing an understanding with a glance. The Oni had managed to struggle up into a sitting position and was in the process of getting out of the crater. At Ryoga's nod, the glowing young man and the panther attacked together.

The Oni was hard pressed to block Ryoga's punches. Each one flew into the stone monster like a sledge hammer. The great cat was everywhere, slashing deep into the Oni with its claws. The Oni was forced to heal itself over and over again, while its own punches were useless – Ryoga paid them no mind at all and the feline paid even less. The creature tried to unleash Despair again, but the auras surrounding Ryoga and Ranma would not yield to the dark mist, burning right through it. Realizing that the woods might over some cover (or at least limit avenues of attack), the stone statue turned to make a run for it, exposing his flank to the cat and allowing Ranma to slice the Oni in a direction perpendicular to the existing damage. Ryoga saw the "X" patterned scars on the Oni and stopped punching the stone menace. Instead, he touched the intersection and yelled "Breaking Point!".

There was an explosion of green light that showered the brothers with sand. The Oni collapsed face first on the ground screaming. Ranma made another "X" set of scars and Ryoga applied the Breaking Point. Again and again, they repeated the procedure, driving closer to the monster's core. The Oni was pleading with them to stop, offering them anything and everything, but they ignored him. Finally, there was a Breaking Point accompanied by a loud cracking sound and the Oni lay still. There was a second cracking sound and stone shards flew up into the victors' faces. Something glowing a sickly green leapt out of the shattered body, and tore across the clearing. Ranma ran after it, but before the chase to could approach the trees at the far side, something rose out of the tall grass and snatched the fugitive up.

Maomolin stood four meters tall, holding something in one of his paws. The thing was roughly (very roughly) humanoid, but stood less than a meter tall. In many ways, it looked something like the statue, but much more pathetic. The neck was very scrawny, and the hands very long and thin. The feet were horribly oversized for the small frame, and the potbelly matched the feet. "Please Mighty One!" it pleaded. "You must protect me from those two horrible creatures."

"Protect you?" Maomolin sounded truly puzzled. "Why would the mighty Stone Oni of Aokigahara ask protection of me?" Ranma had stopped short when Maomolin arrived. The white cat addressed the glowing one: "Hail, Ranma of Nerima, my son. I see you have accomplished your mission. As did you, Ryoga Hibiki, my son." The last was said to the Lost Boy as he ran up.

Ryoga stopped and stared. "Maomolin? You're the Oni's enemy?"

"More or less. The Oni has many enemies, including you two and the rest of humanity. I've just been the most active. Your father sends his greetings, by the way."

"Dad?" Ryoga questioned with wide eyes. "Where is he?"

"Somewhere safe. Actually, he's on another world all together," Maomolin added. "I'll bring him back soon."

"Cheat! Cheat!" yelled the Oni in Maomolin's paws.

Again, the Cat Lord looked at the Oni in surprise. "Cheat? Did someone sneak in and make a set of rules while I wasn't looking?" Maomolin looked at Ryoga once more. "Your mother is also safe. Of course, she was never in any danger from the Oni – it just wanted to prevent her from consoling your father. I imagine she'll be heading back home as the Oni's spell wears off."

"Does that mean we will stop getting lost now?" Ryoga asked.

"I'm afraid not, lad. The Oni actually damaged your minds to induce the lack of direction. While I expect you'll finally be able to heal somewhat (or at least stop getting worse), you'll never heal all the way. On the other hand, at least compasses will stop malfunctioning in your hands and you will all stop the damn teleporting. It's very hard to keep track of someone who can stride across entire continents in a few steps. Anyway, things should at least be manageable with a bit of work. Of course, your children will never have the condition now."

"Were you the one who linked Ranma and me together as well?"

"Yep, guilty as charged. It solved several problems at once. Although we usually refer to it as a Binding." The cat grinned slyly at Ryoga. "Why? Are you disappointed in your brother – or your foster father?"

Ranma growled a good natured warning at Ryoga. Ryoga laughed and put a hand behind his head as he replied, "No, no. You are both fine. But shouldn't Ranma switch back to his normal form now?"

Maomolin shook his head. "Not quite yet. I'd prefer you both stay 'powered up' a little longer. We still have a few things to do and there are still a few folks to stop by. While I'm not expecting trouble, it's best to plan for emergencies. Besides, Ranma's not over his fear of cats yet and I'd like him to hang around – he deserves to see the end of all this. Now, come with me please." The white cat led them back to the Oni's stone body. "Ryoga, you must completely destroy the body and reduce it to sand. Ranma, you must scatter the remains, do you understand?" The glowing cat nodded his head.

Ryoga stepped up the body as the Oni shrieked: "WAIT! Surely we can bargain here? There must be something the three of you want – you cannot have perfect lives!"

Neither of the cats nor Ryoga acknowledged the imp's question. Ryoga began to run his hands over the shattered statue, using the Breaking Point lightly. At his touch, the stone changed to sand. The Lost Boy worked meticulously, starting at the top of the head and moving the sand out of his way to make sure everything was destroyed. He would later swear that something was escaping as the stone broke apart, and he felt an urge to make sure it (or rather they) stayed free. As he worked, the Oni continued to wail and plead the entire time, but neither of the three felt any sympathy for it. As Ryoga finally finished breaking the last toe apart, he felt a something snap inside himself and he stood up facing Maomolin. The Oni fell silent and turned from green to white in fear. "It's done. I felt the last discharge from the stone just then," Ryoga stated calmly.

Maomolin nodded his head and gestured at Ranma who stepped forward. Ryoga moved out of the way as the large panther began glow even brighter than before. A wind sprang up that seem to fall from the sky around the great blue cat and blow out across the clearing. The wind began to pick up as the glow brightened yet further. Finally, Ranma drew in a deep breath and let out a tremendous snarling roar. The wind became hurricane strength and picked up the sand, hurling it high into the sky. When it finally stopped, there was no trace of the statue's sand anywhere in the clearing.

Just as Ranma dropped his aura down to a bearable brightness, at large boom echoed across the mountain top. "NOOO!" screamed the Oni. "Please let me go! I'll do anything you want! Have mercy!" There was a screech of metal shattering the air.

Ranma's face contorted in a vicious snarl, and Maomolin's goofy face filled with disgust and anger as he looked at the imp trapped in his paws. Ryoga spoke for all of them: "You have no pity for others, glorying in their hopelessness and abject misery, yet you expect us to show you mercy? We will show you the same mercy you extended to your victims, you filthy little coward." The sound of chains started in the distance.

The Oni began to gibber in fear. "You don't understand! Those chains will drag us all down to Hell. You cannot let them near us! We must flee!" The sound of the chains grew closer.

"Have you ever told the truth to your victims, I wonder?" Maomolin questioned. "Unfortunately for you, I know exactly who carries those chains. I saw them seven years ago. The bearers are very anxious to see you again." The clinking began to fill the clearing.

"NOO!" the miserable wretch in Maomolin's hold screamed as something began to travel through the grass toward the four of them. The clinking had a rhythm to it that reminded Ryoga of men marching. Sure enough, it appeared that the grass visible in the starlight seemed to fall as if several someones were walking through it. "NO! I AM AOKIGAHARA! I AM THE FINAL TRUTH!" yelled the Oni.

Ranma walked over and sat upright on Maomolin's right, watching the disturbance in the clearing. Ryoga moved to Maomolin's left. He could now see two chains suspended in the air above the falling grass. Finally, the heads of each chain stopped just in front of Maomolin. Slowly, the shades of eighteen men began to appear alongside the chains, nine to a side. All of them wore ceremonial armor, although none were fancier than the lead man on the right chain. That man bowed to Maomolin and grew solid. His followers copied his example. "Hail Lost One! I am Iko Hibiki, slayer of the Oni of Aokigahara. My descendents and I seek a completion to our labors. Will you surrender the reverent of the Oni to us? We are willing to fight if necessary."

Ranma snorted from Maomolin's side. Maomolin nodded to Iko and spoke: "As my son has expressed, we have no willingness to keep the Oni from you. You may claim him with our Blessing and only one Obligation – Bring him to Judgment."

Iko nodded back. "We accept the Obligation."

"NOO! I have done nothing wrong!"

"Then you need not fear Judgment," Iko responded. He summoned two of his men to help him take the struggling Oni from Maomolin. The three of them then held the Oni as a collar was clasped about the Oni's thin neck and one of the chains locked to it. Other men came forward and set leg irons and hand irons on the Oni and bound the irons with the second chain. The two long chains were then looped back through the collar and the irons and woven about each other. When the men were done, the Oni looked like a fly caught in a steel spider web. Six men came forward and held the web, tightening it about the Oni as they stretched it out among themselves.

"Please loosen it, Great Warriors," the Oni pleaded in a choked voice. "I cannot breathe."

Iko addressed the Oni, "Hear me, corrupt imp. You are dead, and with the Dead you will leave." The Oni's color faded to a dusty grey and it hung limply in the chains, but it said no more. Iko then turned from it and studied Ryoga. As he stared into the Lost Boy's eyes, Ryoga began blushing. Once more Iko spoke, "Great Grandson, I will not say am I disappointed in you, but you have pushed and stretched the honor of those around you. Fortunately, you are still alive. It is time to make amends. Correct and pay for your misjudgments."

"I will Great Grandfather," Ryoga promised.

Iko nodded at Ryoga, and then seized Ryoga's chin with one hand. He gave his Great Grandson a kiss on the check and let go. With a nod to Maomolin, and another nod to Ranma, Iko gestured to his descendents and they reformed into their lines with the dead Oni held between them. Iko then led them out of the clearing and they faded into the night.


	12. The Second Iteration

Chapter 12: The Second Iteration

The three were silent as they watched the Dead fade into the night. Finally Ryoga turned to Maomolin and asked, "So is that it? Is it over?"

"Not quite," the great white cat answered. "We need to hang out here a little longer and await the next visitor."

"Who is that?"

"Me," the cat answered.

Ryoga was stunned. "Huh?"

Ranma looked at Maomolin with what could only be called a raised eyebrow.

"Trust me," Maomolin said. "Watch there…" he pointed into the woods. Ryoga began to hear something approaching from that direction. The something was large, yet agile. Finally, it reached the clearing and stepped out under the stars. Ryoga found that his night vision was very acute, so he could easily make out the shape of large four meter high cat with bright yellow eyes.

The Maomolin beside Ryoga spoke. "Hello Maomolin. You're late again. You've arrived after all the action has happened."

The newcomer stopped and looked at his twin. "Who are you?" he asked.

The first cat replied: "I am Maomolin, the Lost Seeker. Nearly two thousand years ago, I lost my Love to Death, so I challenged Death to return her. Unfortunately, I won the duel, which removed me from the circles of Life and Death, where my Beloved was. I have searched for her ever since."

"But that's who I am!" returned the newcomer cat.

"Yes, it is," the nearer cat replied. Then he held up his palm toward the newcomer. On the palm was a small black hour glass. "Recognize it?"

"Where did you get that?"

"I accepted it to start a task; a task that is finished this very night. I was given part of my reward at the start of the task. Did you not wonder how you suddenly were able to stand in the daylight? Why your power increased seven years ago?"

The newcomer looked thoughtful. "So, it was you all along?"

"Yes, and now it is time to collect the rest of our payment, but first, we must close the Circle."

"Well, that's all fine for you, but what about me?" the newcomer asked. "You get to end the task, but doesn't that mean I have to start it?"

"But if that task returned your power and fulfilled your obligation to Ryoga Hibiki, wouldn't you take it? For either of those results? Plus you know you will succeed…because you have."

"Well, yes. I suppose I would," the newcomer responded.

"Then take the talisman from my hand, and accept the task."

"How far back do I have to go?"

"Seven years," the nearer Maomolin answered.

The newcomer sighed. "Well, I suppose that's not too bad." He stepped toward the giant cat, who likewise stepped toward him. They continued to walk toward each other, and the nearer Maomolin kept his hand containing the hourglass outstretched.

The newcomer stopped just before he took the talisman and asked, "How do I know I can trust you?" The nearer Maomolin just held up his free paw. The newcomer pressed his paw against the upraised paw. A bright white light sprang soundlessly from their contact. Understanding began to blossom across the newcomer's face. "I see. Very well, I accept." With that, he reached to take the hourglass from his doppelganger.

A wind sprang up around the two white cats and darkness shone from the hourglass, a counterpoint from the light that emanated from their joined upright paws. Small points of light also began to circle the two. Ryoga felt his surroundings shake and a shimmering noise filled his ears. It seemed that everything but the two cats faded somewhat, or maybe it was that the two cats became more real. Suddenly, both cats shone brightly, washing out all other sights. When the light faded, there was only one Maomolin standing with his back towards the two brothers. The cat took a deep breath and then turned towards Ranma and Ryoga. "Let's see if this really worked," he said to them.

Maomolin closed his eyes and seemed to shrink. As he did, the fur began to vanish and clothes began to appear. His hair darkened and retreated to the top of his head. The paws vanished to be replaced with boots and gloves. Soon, a tall dark-haired man with soft golden eyes stood before Ryoga. "Maomolin?" Ryoga questioned.

"Yes, it's me, Ryoga. The power I lost in the battle with Death is mine again, and I'm back in the Circles of the World," the golden-eyed man answered with a deep voice.

"Doesn't that mean you can die now?" Ryoga asked.

"Yes, but I'm not planning on it for quite a while. Besides, you should know by now that every ending is a new beginning. You're a bit cleverer than I am after all." With that, the man smiled at him. Then he turned towards Ranma. "All right boys, it's time to retreat inside again. I'm sure Ranma will work toward an accommodation with you."

The panther began to shrink in a peculiar fashion. It seemed as if the outer layer was shrinking inside the cat. When the layer was gone, a new layer began shrinking inside. As layer after layer faded, the form of a red-haired girl slowly became visible, as if trapped in amber. Soon, the last layer faded internally, leaving a very human, but female Ranma standing there. Ranma stood looking thoughtful for a moment, and said out loud: "Give me a little more time. I promise." She seemed to shake herself and look around. Then, with a cry of "You moron!" she leapt at Ryoga, pounding on him. "What the hell were you thinking?" she yelled.

Ryoga was a bit at a loss. For once, he understood Ranma's frustration and anger. He blocked the punches he could, while trying to reason with the red-head. "Oh come on, Ranma. You know I tend to get overly emotional..." He dodged a side kick, but took a punch to the gut and several shots to the back of the head. Judging from the blows, it was obvious Ranma was more relieved than angry with the Lost Boy. Finally, Maomolin reached in and grabbed Ranma by the collar one-handed, hauling him off Ryoga.

"All right, lad. You know, there are better ways to welcome your brother back from the dead," the golden-eyed man said holding the girl in the air at arm's length.

Ranma crossed her arms over her chest and threw a black look at her foster father while grumbling: "You know, it's not fair that I can practice around the clock and some idiot with a bit of magic can handle me like a child."

The erstwhile cat laughed. "I love you too, son. How about a peace offering – some hot water?"

"Deal."

Maomolin set Ranma down and produced a thermos. As he handed it to the girl, he added. "And it's not like you couldn't have broken my arm in three places before I blinked."

Ranma snorted as she loosened her clothes a little. "Maybe you deserve a little bit more respect than that."

The shape-changed cat gave a mocking bow, "I'll take what I can get."

Ranma poured just enough hot water over her head to become male again, and then saved the rest. "Just in case we run across some water on the way back to the farm house," he commented. "Which way is it?"

"I know the way," Ryoga volunteered. The other two looked skeptically at him. "No, really! Akari marked a trial for me to follow if I made it to this clearing."

"Fine. You point the way – I'll lead," Ranma stated. "Oh, wait." He quickly ran to the center of the clearing and picked up the backpack. "Shizuka will want this back," he explained as he returned to Maomolin and Ryoga.

"Who?" asked Ryoga.

"Shizuka. She's Kasumi's Tai Chi sensei. She should be at the farmhouse with Akane and the rest," Ranma explained.

"You'll have quite the gathering for you birthday, lad," Maomolin commented.

"Oh. Why are they here? They didn't know it was my birthday," Ryoga asked.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you about it on the trail," Ranma said.

"Yes, but before we go," Maomolin started. "How did you know about the Earth Elementals trapped in the Oni's shell?"

Ryoga looked puzzled. "What?"

"Just before you attacked the Oni, you commented that one of its crimes was the enslavement of the Earth Elementals. Once you said it, I knew how the Oni avoided dying, and that the body had to be completely destroyed to banish it. But, I didn't know about that previously. You did. How?" Maomolin quizzed.

"Oh," Ryoga said with sudden understanding. He looked down at the ground. "*She* told me."

"Who?" Ranma asked.

"After the Oni hit me, I found myself somewhere else." Ryoga laughed a little at that. "Not like that's unusual for me. It was somewhere very misty though. I started to move when a voice yelled out to me: 'STAY RIGHT THERE!' I froze on the spot. Then a woman walked out of the mist. She wore a long white dress that glowed in the dark and had these piercing angry eyes."

"And…" Maomolin prompted.

Ryoga continued: "Well, she looked me over a bit disdainfully and said 'So, you're what the fuss is about. Hmph. The idiots around you are a little too forgiving I think. They've been jumping through hoops trying to save your hide. Is it really worth saving?'"

"A bit harsh there…" Ranma commented.

"Let's just say she wasn't impressed with me," Ryoga went on. "And she let me know at great length. She knew a lot about my life and was very quick with the examples. She spoke on for some time – at least it seemed like forever. When I tried to defend myself, it seemed to make things worse. Anything I said was used against me. Eventually, I figured the best thing I could do was to stay quiet, but I felt about this tall when she was done." He held up his thumb and forefinger barely apart. "She then went on to tell me about the Oni's other victims and how much they suffered, and how lucky I was compared to them. In that monologue, she mentioned the Earth Elementals and the hell they suffered every minute since their enslavement. Of course, I opened my mouth and said something really stupid…"

"Let me guess," Ranma said while looking up at the sky. "You used the 'I've seen hell…' line on her."

"Oh yeah…" Ryoga shuddered at the memory. "I *really* caught it then. Once she wound down, she went on to tell me about you surrendering to the Cat Fist and how upset Akari and the Tendos would be finding out I was dead, and how Ukyo would feel upon hearing the news, and that even the Amazons would grieve for me – never mind how my parents would feel. She then asked me could anybody really be in hell if that many people cared about them." The Lost Boy studied the ground, "I really sorry, Ranma. I have been a jackass."

Ranma looked at Ryoga with a small smile on his face. "How about one jackass forgives the other?" He held at his hand. "Even?"

Ryoga took the offered hand. "Even."

Maomolin gave a nod of approval, and then asked "What happened next?"

"Well, that's when Ranma's Cat Fist hit me. I never felt so strong in my life – it was like I could do anything. The lady just sighed and looked at me. Then she spoke: 'I'm not sure how you rate it, but it looks like you have another chance. You can go back and try and make amends to those who care – or you can tell them shove off and move on. What's it going to be?'"

Maomolin laughed a little at that point. "Did you ever get the feeling you were being manipulated, lad?"

"In spades," Ryoga answered. "Still, even though she led me down the garden path, she was still right, so I wanted to come back. The rest you know." The other two nodded. He then added, "Man, if she's going to be waiting for me when I die, I've got to clean up my act. She had the sharpest tongue I ever ran across."

"Hmmm. I'm sure she did," Ranma agreed thoughtfully. At Ryoga's questioning look, Ranma asked "Did you think she looked at all familiar?"

"Well, a little," Ryoga said slowly. "Actually, now that I thought about it, I'm pretty sure I've seen her somewhere before."

Ranma nodded. "Describe her."

"She had brown eyes and blue-black hair and very fair skin…" Ryoga began.

"And she stood about so high," Ranma indicated with his hand.

"How did you know that?" Ryoga looked puzzled.

"Because you haven't met her, but you have met her daughter – one she resembles a great deal. You've seen those eyes peer right though you in life too (usually just before you lose your last yen), because her other daughter has the same eyes. As for the sharp tongue, all three of her daughters have it, but you haven't been on the receiving end of it as much as I have," Ranma finished.

Ryoga looked stunned. "Mrs. Tendo?"

"Yep – and from all the stories I heard lately, she left you off easy considering P-chan's sleeping habits. You've been given fair warning though. If you haven't cleaned up your act before your next encounter, expect a bucket of water and the butcher's block to be waiting," Ranma added with a small smile.

Ryoga still looked stunned. "Mrs. Tendo?" he repeated.

"What stories have you heard?" Maomolin asked curiously.

"Many, but my favorite was the tale Happosai told when he last got drunk. It concerned the one and only time he ever groped Mrs. Tendo."

"What did she do?"

"Apparently she stuffed him in a vacuum bag and beat the crap out of the bag."

"A bit surprising considering Happosai's skill, but it doesn't sound too bad. He's a tough old bird."

"Well, she never opened the bag to put him in there, nor did she remove the bag from the vacuum."

"He went up the pipe?" The cat's eyes widened a little.

"A good trick considering the pipe was only 7 centimeters in diameter. An even better trick considering the vacuum wasn't turned on," the martial artist grinned.

"Oh dear. So the old fool was a hurting puppy after that."

"Oh, she wasn't done yet. She spent twenty minutes dunking the vacuum in the pond."

"And…" Maomolin prompted.

"And then she plugged the vacuum in. Happosai said he was still smoking from the electrocution a month later."

"Mrs. Tendo?" Ryoga said, still stunned.

"Hmmm…" Maomolin looked at Ryoga. "Sounds like she has a mean streak. I think you better start making amends this evening. One never knows how much time one really has."

"Mrs. Tendo?"

Ranma gave Ryoga a dope slap. "C'mon. Wake up. We need to get going."

Ryoga shook himself. "Somehow, I think the roughest part of the evening is still in front of me…"

His two companions just grinned as they pulled him into motion.

* * *

A/N: Next update is the wrap up. There will Answers, punishments, a little fluff, a little background on Shizuka, and Destiny renewed. See you then.

BTW: Ranma's comments regarding Mrs. Tendo became the basis for the story "The Vengeance Rose."


	13. Answers

Chapter 13: Answers

Maomolin sat in the living room on some cushions and graciously accepted a cup of tea from Akari. He was in his human form, but he had let a set of black cat ears manifest themselves on top of his head. For some reason, he just felt comfortable that way. Of course, it helped that Ranma wasn't fazed by the cat ears. The young man was willing to accept the Ghost Cat at face value, so long as they could skip the triggering of irrational fears, and a set of cat ears just wasn't enough of a cause. Besides, Maomolin felt it was important to remind the listeners of Ranma's story that the unbelievable was sometimes true (although, admittedly, the listeners should be use to that due to their association with the young martial artist…).

However, not everyone was in the house. The cat tried his best to ignore the yelling and shouting that was occurring out behind the farmhouse. Ryoga had tried to apologize to Akane, but it was a little tough to talk to someone wielding a flaming pitchfork and screaming "Pervert!" at you constantly. Nabiki had reported a little later that Akane's battle aura had consumed the pitchfork, but her little sister had managed to find a very large steel sledge hammer and was now pursuing the Lost Boy with it. This did explain the heavy crashing sounds that shook the earth periodically. Maomolin winced as his sharp ears picked up a particularly loud battle cry. The farm animals outside had hidden in the barn, and even Katsunishiki was maintaining a low profile by hanging out in the front of the house and looking in the window at the living room. Everyone else did their best to ignore the racket, although Akari was starting to get over her anger at Ryoga and was beginning to worry slightly – she did love him after all.

Ranma was doing his best to tell the tale of the battle with the Oni. Every now and then he was forced to pause due to the noise levels. During those pauses, he would close his eyes and use the Binding to check Ryoga's stamina and see if it was time to rescue his spirit brother. He wasn't looking forward to the rescue, but he didn't want to lose his brother. Nor did he want his fiancée jailed for murder. Fortunately, Ryoga's spirit was adept at holding the energies of the Cat Fist even after Ranma was released from his altered state. Ryoga had picked up a full charge, which was good, because he needed it now…

Kasumi had already told how they had arrived at the farm a few minutes before Katsunishiki brought Akari home. The four women with the help of a few farm hands managed to get Akari off of the sumo pig's back. Kasumi had then recognized that Akari's sleep was due to pressure points, and reversed the technique. Once she was awake, Akari told of hearing a strange music and then remembering nothing at all. Akane explained the situation as best she could, but it took Shizuka to physically stop Akari from running after Ryoga. "You're a target, Akari. What the Oni has planned for you is worse than death. You have to stay here and trust Ranma," the middle age woman told her bluntly. Akari had broken down in tears, but obeyed the older woman.

As Ranma's tale wound down, Nabiki looked very thoughtful. "All this is fine and great," she said. "But why such the fuss about Ryoga?"

Akari looked at Nabiki in shock. "Very diplomatic, Nabiki," Shizuka said.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm happy Ryoga is safe," she said with a dismissive wave of the hand. After a battle cry of "Die pig!" sounded out back again, she continued: "Well, relatively safe anyway. But, eighteen of Ryoga's ancestors fell to the Oni. Why did the Powers-That-Be" – she grinned mockingly at Maomolin who winked back – "get involved now?"

"Well," Ranma drawled. "As I mentioned earlier, there is something desirable about stopping the Oni from regaining power. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes," she continued. "But in your Visions, Maomolin defeated the Oni already. He got involved because of a battle between Earth and Water. Why does that involve Ryoga?" She looked questioningly at Maomolin.

The shape-changed cat looked thoughtful for a moment. He then glanced from Nabiki to Ranma and seemed to make up his mind. "I think I'd better answer that question," he started. "As some of you are aware, there are places in this world where Elemental forces will sometimes gather and pool. Some are obvious like volcanoes or deep jungles, some are not so obvious, like the Great Plains of the United States."

"The Great Plains?" Kasumi questioned.

Maomolin nodded. "It's one of the reasons that region of the world spawns so many tornadoes – there are many areas there that are sacred to Air. Sometimes, an Element will dominate a region like that." He looked at Ranma again and continued. "In large regions of China, the dominate Element is Water."

"Shouldn't it be an ocean then?" Akari asked.

"It doesn't work that way – all the Elements are present in some way everywhere on the Planet. Abundance is not Dominance. Believe it or not, Fire holds sway in many parts of the ocean. Earth rules the skies over the North and South Poles. It's sort of like how a couple of sheepdogs can control a large herd of sheep. The dogs have more of a sense of Presence than the sheep do, so the hounds are the dominate Force."

"You're talking as if the Elements are alive," Nabiki stated with raised eyebrows.

"They are alive, Nabiki. And sometimes they are alive enough to be aware. That's when you have Elementals and Elemental Spirits. Anyway, we are getting away from the point." The cat went on: "As I was saying, in China, the dominate Element is Water."

"Let me guess," Ranma cut in. "One of those dominate regions is Jusenkyo."

"Yep," agreed Maomolin. "Jusendo is another. One of many"

"Aren't they the same?" Kasumi questioned.

"No," the cat answered. "While there is a flow of Elemental Water between those two, they are two very different places. One is keyed to Yin, the other to Yang – I'll leave it to your imaginations which is which, but the answer may surprise you."

Maomolin stretched a little and continued: "Japan has many Elemental Places of Power too, but there's actually been an absence of one the Elements in the country until relatively recently."

"Which one?" Ranma asked

"The answer is Water again, Ranma."

"No. Bloody. Way."

"Again, Abundance is not Dominance. Sorry, but despite what you think, the Element is not out to get you. In most of the country, it doesn't have enough Awareness to even notice you."

"You said 'most of the country'," Nabiki prompted.

"Yep. And the really ironic part is that Ranma has been there."

"Say what?" blurted the pig-tailed boy.

"You, Ryoga, and Akane all drank from this place, and that what started the ball rolling."

Kasumi closed her eyes for a moment, and then said in very definite tones: "Ryugenzawa, and the Water of Life."

"Excuse me?" asked Shizuka, but Maomolin was nodding his head.

"When you drink the water there for the first time," the cat explained, "the Spring steals a tiny portion of your soul to add to its own Spirit. In exchange, the Spring grants you the ability to escape Death once, and only once. You never notice, and eventually, your soul heals completely, but the Spring upholds its end of the bargain anyway. On the first pass of events that I lived through, Ryoga alone had drunk from the Spring. However, when the Oni killed him, the beast absorbed his soul, preventing the Spring from fulfilling its part of the bargain. Since the Oni had enslaved the Earth Elementals and they were used to kill Ryoga, that is what set up the battle between Earth and Water. That's what I was sent to stop."

"So," Nabiki cut in. "You could have fulfilled your mission by stopping Ryoga from drinking from the Spring."

"Yes," Maomolin agreed, "and while I wanted to help Ryoga defeat the Oni, I also wanted to keep Ryoga away from the Spring, sort of as a little insurance policy. Unfortunately, I was distracted by Ryoga's father when our trio visited the Water of Life."

Ranma looked thoughtful and then spoke up: "Let me guess; the Spring fulfilled its duties to Ryoga this past day."

"Yes," answered Maomolin. "And by the way, just to be clear, the Spring has already fulfilled its duties to Akane *and* you."

Everyone could see the stunned expression on Ranma's face. "Say what?" he uttered in a hushed tone.

"You're well aware of what happened to Akane, Ranma," the cat-eared man said quietly. "It haunts your dreams nightly." The young man shivered and bowed his head. Maomolin continued: "The same day she died and returned, you did too, and you did it before her. Only, you were so worried and focused on her, you never even noticed – Gods, we should all be that single-minded about our loved ones."

Now, the pig-tailed boy was blushing furiously. Nabiki grinned wickedly at his expression, but the other ladies were a bit more sympathetic. Shizuka caught Nabiki's eye and shook her head at the teenager. Nabiki pouted, but let things be. Slowly, Ranma got himself under control and looked up at the Cat Lord. "When?" he asked.

Maomolin shook his head "I won't tell you, but I learned about from your dreams. You already know deep inside yourself. Either you don't want to face it, or it's just not important to you. Given your nature, it could very well be either. However, this is a very private thing and I'm not going to force the issue one way or another – that's up to you." The cat smirked then. "I've already crammed a lot of information down your throat for today."

Ranma snorted at that and relaxed. "Fair enough." Suddenly he winced.

Kasumi sighed. "She caught him again?"

Ranma nodded and then stood up. "All right. She's had her revenge." At Akari's worried look, he said quickly "Oh, he's fine – mostly. He's just one big bruise right now, and he's got a few burn marks on him, but she's starting to wear on his reserves. I think he's been duly punished." He looked at Kasumi. "I'm going to need help calming her down." She nodded and stood up.

Nabiki also rose. "I'll help," she said. "From a distance. I'm a faster talker than either of you."

Shizuka also stood. "You're not going to charge a fee?"

Nabiki took out a camera. "Naw. But I do want to save the moment for posterity."

Ranma rolled his eyes and looked at Maomolin. "Want to come along?"

The man laughed. "Nope. I'm a lover, not a fighter. I'll wait here and help Akari get the bandages and ice packs ready. My foster sons will need both." He grinned at a Ranma.

The teenager shook his head in disgruntlement and led the way out back.


	14. Family

Chapter 14: Family

* * *

Part I

Ranma set next to Akane in the compartment booth on the train ride home. Shizuka, Kasumi, and Nabiki were in another booth across the aisle. They had managed to catch the last train back to Nerima for the evening, and would probably just stay at the Jouda dojo tonight and go home in the morning. Kasumi had called the Tendo dojo from the Unryü's house to inform her father where everyone was, so there were no worries there. Shizuka had also called to let her husband know to expect guests. Kasumi and Shizuka were talking quietly. Nabiki had her head against the window and was out cold.

Ranma looked at his seat mate who was determinedly staring out the window and doing her best to ignore everyone, including him. Ranma had tried to get Kasumi to sit with Akane, but Kasumi had made it plain without saying a word that this was Ranma's problem, and he'd better deal with it. He sighed and reviewed the events the day in his mind. It had started with him telling off Shampoo and Ukyo this morning. Then there was the discussion about dreams followed by more dreams and the summoning the Ghost Cat. The follow-up to that was the race up the mountain and the fight with the Oni. Finally, the day capped off with Ryoga telling Akane about P-chan. That led to Akane punishing Ryoga. Ranma thanked the heavens that Ryoga had a hefty constitution or Akane would probably be up on murder charges right now.

Of course, once Akane finished punishing Ryoga, she promptly blackened both of Ranma's eyes for keeping secrets. She probably would have done worse except that Kasumi and Nabiki reminded Akane that Ranma had been between a rock and a hard place with regard to P-chan. Besides, Ranma had been continually punished for Ryoga's acts, and it was time to call things even.

Ranma looked at himself in the window over Akane's head. The bruises around his eyes were already faded, a result of his own remarkable healing ability and the fact that some of the energy Ryoga had stored from the showdown had spilled back into him through their shared spiritual link. That was one thing he'd have to get use to – the fact that he and Ryoga were basically spirit brothers. What one knew, the other knew and they would always be aware of the other. He grinned into the night - yet another crazy addition to his family. Let's see then; the people he could count on now included an always lost 19 year old brother, a 21 year old mother figure, a 19 year old narcissistic sister, and an 18 year old Tomboy fiancée. His grin became slightly manic - Let the world come at him – he was ready.

"What are you grinning at, idiot?" Akane said testily, looking at his reflection.

"I'm just reflecting on the fact that I must be the luckiest man on earth," he said whimsically.

Akane turned to face him in disbelief. "Lucky? Damn, I must have hit you too hard; I think you've finally gone off the deep end. This morning you were talking about killing yourself."

He laughed softly. "Well, I seem to have plenty of reasons to live when I stop to think about it."

Akane eyes soften slightly, "And those would be?"

"Family, Akane, my real family," Ranma replied. At her raised eyebrows, he went on. "For the longest time, all I've had is my Art and my Honor. Now I have something more valuable to fight for."

"And who is in your real family?"

He ticked them off on his fingers, "Ryoga. Kasumi. Nabiki." With extra emphasis, he added, "You."

"What about your mom and dad?" she questioned.

He sighed. "My mom and dad are obligations. They demand. They don't give. One day they may do me in."

Akane nodded her head sadly. Then her eyes sharpened. "So, I'm your sister?"

The question shook Ranma. He immediately wanted to yell "No!" at her, but if she wasn't his sister, then what was she? She was definitely his friend, his best friend when it came down to it. But she was more than that. When he thought she was dead at Jusendo, his world had stopped and he never cared if it started again. When she started breathing again, so did his world. He couldn't imagine a future without her. The only problem was that he wasn't ready to be married yet either. He wanted to date, to propose properly, and to love as they were ready to – not as they were dictated too.

Love? How had that word crept into his thoughts? But, this wasn't a new thought – it had ripped out of him at Jusendo when he thought he had lost her, when he had begged her to wake up. Then, when she did wake up, he had turned tail and buried his second chance, like a coward. On the other hand, his second chance wasn't over yet…

"No, you're not my sister," he answered quietly.

"So, what am I then?"

"On the day of the failed wedding, you asked me a question. Do you remember?"

"Yes, and you never answered me," she said with some heat.

"Fine. The answer is 'Yes', and it has been for a while now," he stated with only a slight stutter.

"Yes?" Her eyes held his, weighing his answer.

He nodded, no longer trusting his voice.

"I see," she said finally. She turned to face forward and closed her eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

Ranma began to get nervous as the minutes ticked by. Sweat was breaking out on his brow as he contemplated her silent form.

"Ranma?"

"Yeah, Akane?"

She turned to look him in the eyes again. "Yes," she stated.

Now Ranma studied her eyes, weighing her answer in turn. Then, in response, he held out his hand in front of her. Akane lifted her hand and clasped his. Both smiling slightly, they allowed their joined hands to rest between them, where they stayed for the rest of the trip.

* * *

A/N: For those who never read the Manga, Akane's question just before the failed wedding (the very last chapter of the Manga) was: "Ranma, you do love me, don't you?"

* * *

Part II

Shizuka stole quietly into the living room and stood looking at the four restless sleeping forms stretched out on the floor. The journey back from Akari's farm had been uneventful. Akari had asked them to stay the night, but Kasumi felt that they should take Akane away and get her some space (especially from her punching bag). Maomolin had accepted Akari's invitation, but insisted that he must leave in the morning. While his task was mostly completed, there were a few loose ends to attend to, and he didn't want to put it off. He did promise to visit often though – something about being done with being alone. However before they left the farm, Shizuka had persuaded Kasumi and the teenagers to stay the night with her, instead of trekking to the other side of Nerima. It was very late, and everyone was beat, so it didn't take much to convince the quartet. After all, Shizuka had plenty of room and promised futons and sweat clothes for sleeping.

The Tai Chi Master continued to watch for a moment and then moved over to small desk, removing four pure white candles from the side drawer along with a book of matches. She then moved to the north wall and uncovered a small candle holder. After placing the candle there, lighting it, and making a small bow to it, she then moved to the east wall and repeated the procedure. Then she continued clock-wise to the south wall, and, finally, the west wall. When the ritual was completed, four candles burned brightly, one at each of the compass points. The room filled with a light smell of incense. She continued to watch, and was rewarded with the sight of each of her guests relaxing into a deeper sleep. Kasumi had a light smile on her face. Nabiki's forehead no longer looked so wrinkled. Ranma and Akane had joined hands in their sleep. Shizuka allowed herself a smile and continued to watch her charges for a few moments.

"I could have driven them home, you know." Hideo spoke quietly from the doorway. He also had a smile on his face.

"Don't even suggest that," she scolded her husband lightly. "I have them now. For one night, they are mine. I even got the shape-shifter in the bargain. For one night, they will know a perfect sleep, and not have to worry about looking over their shoulders constantly. Tomorrow morning, Kasumi will have someone serve her breakfast for once, Ranma can eat his fill without worrying about his idiot father, Akane can tease her fiancé without worrying about being dragged to the altar, and Nabiki can set aside her masks and just enjoy being a sibling."

Hideo came up behind her and wrapped her in his arms. "And you can enjoy being a mother," Hideo finished, not unkindly.

Shizuka nodded wistfully. "I'm sorry you married someone who is barren, Love. You would have made a wonderful father."

"Hush. I'm not sorry, I have you. Besides, you and I have helped raise many children, including a least one in this room. Maybe we weren't the parents, but we were certainly the Aunt and Uncle."

"True," she agreed quietly. Shizuka watched the sleepers for a few minutes, and then spoke again. "You know, watching Ranma and Ryoga brought back memories."

Hideo chuckled. "Remembering old rivalries, were we?"

"I was such an idiot. I always competed with her in everything. Always envious of how effortless she made everything seem. I almost missed out on a wonderful friendship because of my jealousy."

"You had to grow up, Shizuka. Just like everyone else."

"I suppose. Still, at least I got there. High School was such a blast with her. Even after school ended, we stayed close. I still miss her a lot. She should have had longer, and she certainly should have been able to see her children now. She would have been so proud."

"Oh, I think she is proud of them. I'm certain she's watching over them – she always was strong willed. Like someone else I know." He gave his wife a squeeze.

"Is that what you are calling it now? Usually, you call it pig-headedness."

"Hmmm. It's that too. Now come to bed."

"In a second, Love."

"Yeah, yeah. I can see the handwriting on the wall." He pulled his wife into a large armchair, holding her as she sat on his lap. He made himself comfortable as she continued to watch over the sleepers. However, Shizuka had also had a busy day, and soon she was asleep as well.

Hideo waited another quarter of an hour, watching as the candles worked their magic on his wife. Once he was sure she was deep under as well, he rose from the chair with her in his arms. He quickly checked the Wards on his building and looked at the candles' progress. Once he was certain things would hold until well after sunrise, Hideo glanced at Kimiko's children and wished them a good sleep. Then he carried his wife to their bed.

* * *

Part III

Maomolin saw the inn at the side of the road and decided to stop for the night. He was tired and a little frustrated. He also didn't feel like hunting for a meal tonight. With a thought, he took his human form and strode up to the inn. Walking in, he noted that while the inn was fairly old, it had all the modern amenities. A middle–aged woman sat behind the front desk.

"Are you still serving dinner this evening?" he asked her.

"Yes, sir. We will be for another hour or so." She answered.

"Good. Do you also have a room available for the night?"

"Yes, we do. You're quite lucky – we had a cancellation today, so there is one available."

"I'll take a bit of good luck."

The woman smiled at him and led him to the dining room. It was fairly full, but she seated him at a small table and gave him a menu. He requested a beer, which she brought to him. She then informed him that a waitress would be by shortly to take his meal order. He looked at the menu and quickly decided on a beef dish. Fish was easy for him to get in the wild, but he never went after a cow – he was rarely hungry enough to eat the entire creature, so he let them be. Besides, often someone owned the cow and was usually counting on the animal for their own sustenance. Having decided, he set the menu down and sipped his beer while waiting for his waitress.

It had been a frustrating set of months since he took on this new task. He was trying to get the Hibiki's home, "try" being the operative word. Unfortunately, the Oni's curse was still dissipating, so he had to deal with the damn teleportation kicking in. Ryoga's father was back in this world, but currently wandering in the United States. As near as Maomolin could figure, he had got there across the Bering Strait and down through Canada. Ryoga's mother was closer – she was on Okinawa. Maomolin had almost gotten her home when the curse kicked in again. Fortunately, the teleportation was getting weaker. Mom should be able to stay reasonable close to Tokyo by the Year's end – hopefully Ryoga would actually have a parent to visit for the Christmas holiday. It might take another year or so for Dad's curse to wear down enough for that to happen.

At least he was able to communicate to Ryoga's parents that their son was safe and the source of the curse had ended. He was also able to promise them that things would get better as the curse wore down. That raised their spirits considerably. In the meantime, he managed to get them laptops that allowed them to communicate with each other and their son, so long as they stumbled across Internet cafes. E-mail could be a wonderful thing. The laptops could also be used to give them a rough idea of where they were. He sighed to himself – that was probably the best he could do for them for a bit. That and let them know that someone was keeping track of them. Oh well.

Ryoga's own teleportation abilities had shrunk dramatically, especially since he was the one who defeated the Oni. Actually, dying cleanly may have reduced the curse's power as well. Compasses still spun in his hand, but now only very slowly. Also, Ryoga still got lost at the drop of a hat, but he was easier to find when that occurred (Ryoga had also learned to stop moving around at the first sign of being lost). Akari was actually able to hold on to him for the past three months.

Maomolin had stopped by to visit them a few times and had also stopped by the Tendo Dojo in Nerima as well. It was nice that there were two places on the globe that were happy to see him. He was careful not to be a pest and overstay his welcome, but he did enjoy the sense of belonging both houses extended to him. He had even been introduced to Kasumi's fiancé, which was a small shock to the system. He and the Kitsune got along just fine though, even though they each recognized the other for what he was - sometimes it was good to let hereditary bygones be bygones. It was also pleasant to have someone to talk to concerning extra-mortal matters.

Speaking of mortal matters, he was hungry. He scanned the crowd until he saw a waitress drop off some food with another customer and make her way toward him. With a start, he realized that he recognized her; or rather he recognized her hair. Her hair had been braided into three long pigtails that she had woven on top of her head like a crown. She also wore the same multi-colored silk scarf about her neck that she had worn seven years earlier – or at least seven years by Maomolin's counting. By her reckoning, that fateful day never happened (for which Maomolin was grateful). She was much prettier than he remembered, but of course that may be the fact that she was not beaten and abused now.

"Good evening, sir. I'm sorry for your wait, but…" she started to say, and then froze when she met Maomolin's eyes. Maomolin would have been amused by her reaction to his golden eyes except that he had a similar reaction to her green eyes. The young woman was the first to break the spell.

"I'm sorry, sir, but have we met before?" she asked.

Maomolin shook himself. "No, not in this timelime," he answered truthfully.

"But, you seem very familiar to me…" she went on.

"I share the feeling, but I think I would remember you if we had," he again answered truthfully.

She seemed to shake herself as well, apologized, and asked for his order which he gave her. She retreated to the kitchen and returned with his meal a little while later. As she handed him his dinner, Maomolin felt a pleasant shock when he accidently touched her hand taking the plate from her. As he ate, she went about her job, but he could feel her eyes wander over to him often. Indeed, he also found himself looking up to scan the room for her frequently. Occasionally, their gazes would meet and then they would both smile shyly and look away. However, they would both return to the game in the hopes of catching the other's eye again.

What was wrong with him? Normally, when he felt an attraction to a woman, his mind began filling with thoughts of kidnapping, not pleasant hopefulness. Kasumi Tendo's voice came back to him:

"You've changed, Maomolin. Did our talk have that great an effect on you?"

Did it? He told her at the time, that her remembered *not* having the talk, but that was from a non-existent timeline now. He did remember the talk now, and it had made an impression on him. Then the voice of another young woman came to him:

"Maybe you deserve a little bit more respect than that."

Did he? Well, whether he did or not, he enjoyed having the respect of his two foster sons. They didn't call him "Dad" or "Father", but they didn't correct him when he called them "Son". In fact, he would swear they actually smiled a little when he said that to them. He didn't want to lose that respect – ever. He also enjoyed the gentle respect the women in his sons' lives showed to him. He definitely didn't want to lose that either. Finally, his own voice flowed from his memories.

"The power I lost in the battle with Death is mine again, and I'm back in the Circles of the World."

He was no longer the "Ghost Cat." He was alive again. Granted, he was a bakeneko, or at least the Chinese version anyway, but he was alive. Did that mean he could feel again? But he had feelings in his previous state, too. Still, something was different. "Different"… was it the ability to change? To grow? Or maybe feel empathy?

These thoughts were lost in the green eyes of his waitress as she asked if he wanted another beer. He said "Yes, please," and ordered dessert as well, but he ordered two to go, which made her look a little sad. When she brought them to him, he took the two boxes and thanked her with an encouraging smile.

She took the bait and asked: "Our portions are not that small that you need two desserts. Who is the second one for?"

"Well, you see," he answered, "I'm hoping the second one is for you."

Her eyes sparkled as she answered back: "A little forward, isn't it? And I'm still on the clock…"

"Only a little, and the restaurant closes shortly. I'll wait until you're done. If you have to catch a ride home, I'll trade the dessert for a few minutes of conversation as you clean up."

"Actually, my family owns the inn and I live here. If you wait, we can have dessert in the front parlor under the watchful eyes of my Mama." She batted her eyelashes at him.

There was a teasing quality to her voice that he quite liked. "Doesn't bother me. I assure you, my intentions are quite honorably," he said with mock nobility. He also surprised himself by meaning it.

"Hmmm…I'm not sure I trust a male that says that, but we will see." She dropped the teasing tone and held out her hand. "I'm Chiyoko."

Maomolin took her hand with care and introduced himself. "I am Maomolin."

She looked at him quizzically, "Maomolin? Were you named after a Chinese legend?"

"You've heard of it?"

"Yes, it's a sad story of lost love. I've always felt sorry for the spirit."

"Well, I'm afraid that stories sometimes end that way, but there's one nice thing about endings…"

"What's that?"

"They often herald new beginnings."

"They do at that," she said brightly. "I'll be back as soon as I clean up."

"I'll be waiting."

With the exchange of the promise and a small smile, she left him to enjoy his beer.


	15. Epilogue

Epilogue:

The sharp oval moon finally cleared the trees and shone down into the clearing, highlighting a short old man standing in the middle. The man stopped and listened carefully to make sure that he was alone, and then began to check the clearing. Eventually, he found a huge four meter long man-shaped depression in the ground. He took out a bright flashlight and checked the depression carefully, then scanned the area around it. Satisfied with what he found (or rather what he didn't find), he turned the flashlight off.

"Not bad. Not bad at all," he said to himself. "That was the trickiest part. The Cat and his students are good." He looked up at the stars and smirked, "Or was that '*my* students are good'?"

He walked over to where he had left a small bag and picked it up. Reaching into the bag, he pulled out a clear flask of water and held the flashlight to it. He watched for about five minutes and noticed that the water was slowly turned cloudy. He gave an evil laugh then. "It's too late now Henna – you've lost another ally. The stone that started rolling at Jusendo is merrily rolling faster now. Very soon, you're going to notice what has been done…"

The old man yawned suddenly and felt tired. "Damn," he muttered. "I'll need to stop in town for a pick-me-up before I go back to Nerima. Hopefully, there are some clothes on-the-line and a few open windows." He placed the bottle carefully in the bag and headed toward the unsuspecting town…

* * *

Author's Note:

O.K. This one was hard to write. The first few stories I wrote flowed onto the paper. For "Brothers" I had to sweat – the ending changed several times, and I had to re-write a number of sections. Adding Konatsu (See JWG? I finally got the spelling right) to the story helped a lot, and moved things along in a better fashion. I pretty happy with the way it turned out, and I hope you enjoyed the story.

Special thanks to caia-chan, Richard Ryley, BurakkuSutaa, James Birdsong, tuatara, Compucles, TL, and JWG for your reviews. I always appreciate the feedback.

Next up, I'm going to spend a little time reading for a bit, then in the Spring time frame, I will be taking a step back from the grand plot and focus on a smaller humor piece: The forces of Light and Dark are focusing on Akane Tendo as she prepares for a major event - Going out with Ranma Saotome on their first official date!

I also have a non-"Bindings" story (a little writing exercise) to publish for review at the end of February. See you then.

DC


End file.
